Coldblooded Vengeance
by caathy
Summary: With a two weeks left in their summer vacation, the Jump Street kids head on a road trip. However danger lurks in the shadows with a heavy heart. A serial killer is back for vengeance against 21JS and he is unlike anyone they have met before. TomDoug
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

_Tom Hanson_

The convenient part about working undercover at a high school? Getting the summer off. When I went to school as a student I usually longed for June. A student spends the school year working hard and frying their brains by studying and writing essays. As Doug has announced the world, I was (and still am) a complete nerd, so studying and frying my brain came naturally. But man, when school let out and summer officially started, I went wild and partied my brains out – of course, being a nerd, to party meant to go out, hang out at the bowling alley and come back by curfew. I wasn't much of a party animal like Doug, but I would soon learn his tricks of the trade.

Even though as students (a.k.a. undercover cops) we had the summer off, we still had to work. For some of us this meant sitting behind a desk, for others it meant traveling across the state to sit-in summer classes and continue undercover work. For the most part I didn't get a chance to hang out with many people on the force with the exception of Doug. He and I were working undercover as the McQuaid brothers (HEH!) at a local school. Judy and Ioki were off doing individual jobs to get through the days of summer. However all four of us made sure to take off the last two weeks of summer before school started again. We made a pact to road trip our way to California. This would take a few days, but the ride over was the best part. We pitched in for an RV, stocked the fridge with food and brought all the music we could get our hands on.

Summer flew by in a flash and our vacation had arrived. The four of us were at Ioki's place and gathered in front of the RV. This was going to be a blast, but there was one problem…

"What do you mean you can't find the keys!"

That would be Doug screaming at Ioki. Usually Doug had a cool head about these sorts of-

"I can't find them, okay?!"

That would be Ioki screaming back at Doug. Usually Ioki had a cool head about these sorts of things but he, along with the rest of us, had a stressful summer. We really needed this vacation to wind down and relax.

"There's a _huge_ RV just sittin' here in front of us, Ioki." Doug pointed out. "You just can't lose the keys."

"Remember the time you lost the keys to your car?" I chimed in. Doug glared at me.

"Hanson," he growled. "Shut up."

"They ended up being in your back pocket. So before you start yelling at Ioki-"

"Hey!" Ioki laughed as he looked in his back pocket. "There they are!"

I looked over at Doug, making sure he saw me give a nice big smirk. He narrowed his eyebrows.

"Hanson, just shut up." He snatched the keys from Ioki's hand and turned to unlock the door. "Just don't say anything." Fumbling with the keys, he finally managed to stuff the key in the lock. He pushed on the door and stumbled inside with a slam of the door.

"What's wrong with him?" Judy asked as she looked at me. "Somethin' happen back at the school?"

"I have no idea," I replied. "He was fine last night, but this morning he's been biting off heads."

"Well I'm not letting him drive," Ioki stated as he pat the side of the RV. "He might have some serious road rage and we can't afford to get into an accident. This baby cost one pretty penny."

There was suddenly a rumbling sound. It was the sound of the motor. Ioki's eyes grew wide and swinging the door open, he rushed inside.

"Penhall!" Ioki called. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm gonna drive, what's it look like?" Doug defended.

"No you're not!"

"Why is that!" Doug asked. "What makes you think I'm not a good driver?"

"'Cause you're yellin' at people!"

"So are you, Ioki!"

"I'm only yellin' cause you're acting all crazy!"

"Me crazy? You're the one who lost the keys to a vehicle worth more than my mortgage!"

"It wasn't _that_ much!"

And so they bickered on and on and on… Judy and I looked at each other. We knew this was going to be a long day. She sighed and leaned against the side of the RV.

"We're eventually going to have to head in there," Judy shuddered. "You know that right?"

"The way I figure it?" I looked through the window and watched those two go back and forth. "One of them will get knocked unconscious, they'll both knock each other out, or one will die. Either way, give it five minutes. It'll get quiet."

"Oh, Hanson," Judy laughed. "You're so optimistic."

"Hey, at least we'll have a quiet ride, or maybe just the first few minutes."

"Tom?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, Judy?"

"Have you told him yet?"

"Um," I ran my fingers through my hair and shook my head. "Nah, I haven't told him yet."

"You should really tell him, Tom." Judy reached out and touched my arm. "We have some time off. You could tell Doug everything and have time to work it out, you know?"

"He'd completely flip out." I paced from the side to side, scared to even mention any of this conversation to Doug. I had something to tell him and I had been putting off talking to him for nearly three weeks. "I'm gonna head onto the RV."

Judy sighed and stared at me with those worried eyes of hers. She rubbed my shoulder. "Trust me, Jude." I pat her arm and made my way onto the RV.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

_Doug Penhall_

We drove in shifts. Every few hours we'd change drivers and around eleven we'd pull over and sleep. Ioki would drive, then me, Tom and Judy. I would have rather taken a plane to Florida, but Judy and the guys insisted we drive there. They said it'd be more fun and it would be a way to strengthen our friendship. Obviously Ioki and I got off to a rough start; we were at each other's throats over silly things like who got to drive first and why it was (or wasn't) wrong of me to drink while I was at the wheel. Nothing major, just milk. Builds your bones, you know? I was on edge and everyone in the RV knew it and everyone was avoiding me, even Hanson.

It must have been a big deal for Hanson to avoid me. Usually he was the first person to get in my face about something. That's the thing about Hanson – he's a nice guy, but he wears his heart on his sleeve. You know when he's happy and you _definitely_ know when he's upset. He's my best bud but we have our days where do nothing but argue. It doesn't damage our bond or anything, just two people bickering. Like an elderly couple really, except there's no prune juice and dentures. I knew that by Hanson avoiding me meant one of two things: my attitude had gotten unmanageable (I'm a teddy bear, so that can't be it) or he was hiding something. I had a feeling it was the second option.

It was almost ten o' clock. Judy and Ioki were sleeping in their bunks which left me and Hanson to ourselves. Tom had been driving nearly three hours and decided to stop at a 7-11 before finding a place to settle in for the night. Until he got back, I kept a close eye on things, mainly Ioki's portable tape player, which I must say was in top condition. The finest you can get. This meant I wasn't really listening to anything other than the new Guns 'N' Roses album, which was also Ioki's. Who knew he was into that sort of music?

"Doug!"

What was that?

"Doug!"

Was that the music? I could barely hear it whatever it was.

"PENHALL."

Hanson! I slipped the earphones off of my ears and tossed the tape player on the dashboard. Leaning over, I pushed the door open to find Hanson hiding behind a massive pile of junk food. In a cautious and slow manner he made his way up the steps and then walked into the next section of the RV. He placed the groceries on the table and let out a relieved grunt, happy that his arms were finally free.

"Did you not hear me?" Hanson asked while ruffling through the pile of food. He pulled out two bags of chips and tossed me one on his way up to sit in the passenger seat. "I called you like five thousand times."

"Well, the tape player and uh, the volume – hey what'd you buy?" I was a man, food distracted me at all costs, especially now. I always got the munchies at night and with Tom buying all that food? It was almost like he was a godsend.

"Um," Hanson looked back at the groceries and went over the items one by one, as if he could not remember all that he bought (which wouldn't surprise me). "Chips, hostess cakes, soda, trail mix, those fruity things that Judy brought in for Christmas last year-"

"They had those?"

"Yeah. And um… I don't know what's in that blue bag. It just looked good."

"You don't know what's in it?" I laughed. "What if it kills us?"

"Well if it doesn't all this food will." Tom dove into his bag of chips and shoved a handful in his mouth. "Our arteries will be clogged by tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, no kiddin'."

"So Doug what was up with you today?" Tom asked.

"What do you mean what was up?"

"It's like you had Male PMS or somethin'."

"Oh please, it wasn't that bad. I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Mhm," Tom said in a doubtful voice, turning his head to look out the window. "I haven't seen you so touchy before."

"Just had a bad week," I said. "That's all."

"A bad week? Doug we just got out of summer school as the McQuaid Brothers. You had a ball. You always have fun playing the bully and wearing ripped jeans. I wouldn't call that a bad-"

"Hanson, just get off my case alright?" I snapped. "It's none of your business anyway."

"Fine, fine. No need to get your boxers in a twist." Tom sank further into his seat and continued watching the window. "I was only trying to look out for-" Tom's statement was interrupted by the sound of a splat against the windshield. We both let out a startled gasp and our eyes widened at what we saw.

"Oh my god…" Tom mumbled. "Doug? Is that what I think it is?"

"I … don't know." I responded, unable to take my eyes from the glass.

"What was that?" Ioki muttered as he shuffled his way down the hall. "I heard a loud collision and-" His words were left unfinished as he took in the sight before him.

Splattered on the windshield was a coat of red liquid. It stretched from my side window all the way to the sideview mirror on the passenger side of the RV.

"Should we check it out?" Tom asked.

"We should call it in." Ioki urged.

"We should check it out." Tom argued.

"We should wake Judy up and get her opinion?"

"No, she's a woman." Tom stated. "She won't want to go outside and take a look at blood splattered on a window."

I looked through the window and underneath the driblets of blood. Something caught my eye.

"Guys…" I started.

"So you DO think it's dangerous?" Ioki continued. "Why not call it in?"

"What if it isn't dangerous? What if it isn't blood?" Tom defended. "What if a bird just mistakenly thought our RV was a latrine?"

"Hanson, it's _red_! I doubt it's-"

"Then it's ketchup! We're right by a fast food joint."

"Guys!" I snapped. "Look out the window!"

Hanson and Ioki hovered over my shoulder to take a look outside. Underneath a few trees was something long, slender and covered in wounds and crimson. It was a body.

"I… I don't think it's ketchup." Ioki whispered. "We should call it in."

Tom rushed into the back and dragged out his duffel bag. He tossed out t-shirts and pants like a madman. "Hanson, what are you doing?" Ioki continued. Tom's ravaging ceased when he found what he was looking for, his gun. "Hanson, what are you doing!" Ioki repeated.

"I'm gonna check it out." Tom muttered as he made his way to the door.

"You idiot, don't even go out there." I pulled on his arm. "You have no idea what's out there."

"I'm not an idiot, I'm a cop." He pushed the door open. "This is what cops do."

"If it did THIS," I gestured to the windshield. "It obviously won't be bothered by your teeny wittle gun."

"Yeah, well," Tom stepped out of the RV. "I guess this is goodbye." With that he walked out of the RV and into the wilderness.

"Call Fuller." I muttered to Ioki. "I'm gonna follow him." Tom was acting crazy. I blame it on all the sugar


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

_Tom Hanson_

It was dark. That was probably a given since it was, you know, night. Everything was so dark that I could barely make out anything. The only thing to be made out was the redness. It was everywhere and the closer I came to the body the more fearful I became. I knew we should have called Fuller, but we needed to check this out. What if that person wasn't ready for a body bag? What if that person was alive? By waiting for back up we could waste away the last moments of that person's life. I needed to help that person as much as I could, and _then_ we could bring in the big boys. However it seemed like I was alone in this. Ioki and Doug wanted to do things their way and Judy would have likely joined them. I was on my own with this one.

The body was female. She wasn't breathing, her heart wasn't beating and she wasn't moving. Her hair was strawberry blond, dancing along with the music of the wind which whistled loudly and pierced the silence of the night. Despite the dark atmosphere I could make out the droplets of blood dribbling down her pale and cold face. Her eyelids were half open and it was almost like those green eyes of hers were staring right at me. The more I stared into her eyes the faster my heart beat.

I only took a few steps closer until the toes of my shoes edged the crimson pool surrounding her body. I scanned over her head, her face, her shoulders and then her back… there was something sticking out of it. It was a handle to a knife. A sliver of silver peaked out from the skin and was speckled with red drops.

"Stunning work, isn't it?" came a voice. It was dark, deep and masculine. It came from the shadows and kept itself well hidden. It was a foreign voice and didn't belong to Doug, Ioki and certainly not Judy. We had a visitor.

An arm came from the trees and its fingers wrapped around my arm, the arm that held the gun. The hand was large and its grip was strong. It clasped my arm strongly, so tight that I could almost feel my circulation stop. Then the other arm came from the shadows and gripped onto my other arm. Holding onto me, he moved us both into the light. This figure, this man's body was gigantic; he was twice my size with the strength of five men. His breath was rotten, odor seeped from his body… he was filthy. He was covered in dirt and his hands were soaked in blood. _Her_ blood. I froze. I couldn't move. My feet were glued to the ground and my eyes were locked with his.

He twisted my hand until the gun was pointed into my chest. He moved his finger over towards the trigger, a smile gradually tugging at his lips.

"This'll be fun," he said in a southern drawl. "Watchin' you fall for me. It's sweet of ya, really. They'll find ya here, layin' right next to her, and my hands will be clean." He looked down at his hands and laughed. "Figuratively of course."

"Doug!" I called out. He slammed my body against the tree.

"Shh, now darlin', don't you say a word." His finger was now over the trigger. "I like it better when it's quiet. It's a thrill hearin' that shot ring in the dark. It's almost euphoric."

A shot rang out just then, not from my gun but from someone else's. He was shot in the shoulder and with a cry he pulled away, taking my gun with him. I didn't have time to look to see who was there, I had to run. So I ran.

The world passed me in a blur. I ran through the clusters of trees, over the back road and into another bushel of trees. I couldn't see where I was going, I couldn't see what I was passing, but I never stopped. For some time I only heard the quickness of my breath, but as the seconds passed I started to hear his footsteps. They were big and loud, twigs and leaves crunching underneath his feet. He was getting closer. Another shot sounded in the distance. I kept running and running and running. And another shot pierced the sky but it was closer. I felt the bullet whip past my arm, missing me by only a few inches.

I could hear him calling out to me. 'Where you goin' boy?' he'd call. The sound of his voice made me cringe. His voice was getting closer; _he_ was getting closer. His footsteps were quicker now, quicker and stronger than mine. As I was about to make a turn he toppled me to the ground. For a moment all he did was stare me in the eye. Our breaths were sharp and rapid. He was right on top of me, holding onto the gun by the barrel. Then with a quick movement, he slammed the rear of the gun against my head. Things became blurry for a moment.

Another shot rang and he cried out once more. That gave me enough time to take the gun from his hand and wiggle my way out from beneath him. Then I was off again, running as fast as I could. Things were passing me in a blur once again but I was dizzy still. My steps were staggered and zigzagged. I had not yet recovered from the blow to the head. I could hear voices calling out to me, and assuming it was him, I only ran faster. There were two of everything and if I kept going as fast as I was, I was bound to run into-

BAM.

If I kept going as fast as I was, I was bound to run into a tree. And that I did. I fell to the ground and the world spun before my eyes. The footsteps were closer and soon I could feel his presence. I eyed a figure coming towards me and pointed my gun at it. …At one of the two. I blinked a few times hoping that that would help the double vision, but it didn't. Before I knew it the figure was hovering over me.

"Get off!" I screamed as I pressed the gun into his shoulder. "Get off me or I'll shoot!"

"Hanson!" cried the voice.

"I swear to god get off me!"

"Hanson!" I squint my eyes and attempted to make out the figure in the dark. It was only Doug. Two Dougs. I wasn't sure which was which so I looked to the one on the left. He took the gun from my hand and pulled me into a sitting position. "Relax, it's just me. It's just me, okay?"

"Where is he? We have to get him."

"He bolted. I shot 'em twice so he can't get far." He gave me a puzzled look. "Hanson? I'm over here."

"Over where?"

"To your right." He pulled me to my feet and pat me on the back. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just seein' double, that's all." I rubbed my forehead, where the man had hit me. "I'll be alright in a few."

"Let's get back to the RV." Doug said. "Fuller should be here any minute."

I could tell already that this wasn't going to be any average vacation.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

_Doug Penhall_

By the time we got back to the RV Fuller was there with back up. Judy and Ioki were waiting outside with tired eyes. When he saw us coming from the trees, Fuller instantly noticed the bruise on Tom's head. Tom was latched to my arm and walking like a drunken man, but slowly was starting to come around. We had no idea who that was or what he wanted, but he did not have trouble going through us to get it.

"What happened?" Fuller said, gesturing to Tom.

"There was a guy... huge…" Tom started. Fuller placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Hanson?" He called. "I'm to your right."

"Sorry, he hit me in the head and I'm kind of… disoriented."

"The paramedics are standing by my car," Fuller turned to Judy. "Hoffs, you take Tom over there and have him examined." Judy nodded and escorted Tom to the medics. Fuller watched Tom and never turned away until he was safely sitting down. Then Fuller turned to me, occasionally glancing at the body by the trees. "Ioki told me everything. You all were sitting in the front and suddenly there was a splatter on the window. Hanson went to check it out, and then what?"

"This guy came out of the forest, sir." I replied.

"Guy? What'd he look like?"

"He was tall, real muscular – like one of those body builders – and had this southern accent. He saw Tom next to the body and just _lunged_ for him. Then Tom ran, got smacked in the head with a gun-"

"Is he okay?"

"He's seein' double but he said it's clearin' up so… Does this mean we're no longer on vacation?"

"I don't know yet, but right now we're getting you guys to the chapel and doing some paperwork."

"Fun." I said with a roll of my eyes.

That's _exactly_ what I wanted to do on the first day of my vacation… paperwork. The good part about it was it didn't take that long. We were questioned, did our paperwork and were out of there in a few hours. We were to stay home for the day and the next morning Fuller would call and give us the details. Hopefully we could go back on our road trip and have to deal with this case. However knowing our luck we would probably end up going after this guy. We were all pretty spooked about running into that guy but we were more spooked about what happened to Hanson. That could have happened to any of us, but Hanson took the fall.

He was doing better but just to be safe I had him stay at my place. He swore his vision was fine but we wanted to make sure he would be up and at 'em tomorrow morning. After all it would have been terrible going on a road trip and seeing two of everything. Two Judys? Two Iokis? The thought even scares _me_. We had a whole day to burn so Tom and I ended up playing cards. We could have watched television or listened to the radio, but we wanted to do something constructive, something that would get our gears turning.

"Go fish," Tom said as he looked up from his hand of cards. I grunted and plucked a card from the table.

"You sure you're seein' okay?" I asked. "Maybe you just haven't seen an ace."

"Dougie, just take your turn." Tom laughed. "I'm seeing fine."

"You got any twos?"

"Go fish."

"Come on!" I said with a chuckle, peaking over his hand in hopes to get a glance at his cards. "You gotta have somethin'."

"I have somethin'!" Tom said as he slapped my forehead with the back of his cards. "Just no twos."

"Or aces."

"Yeah, or aces."

"Or fours."

"Penhall, I'm not cheating. You got any aces?"

"Yeah, here," I started to pull the ace from my hand until I realized something – I had just asked him for an ace! "Hanson!"

"What?"

"I just asked you for an ace!"

"No you didn't."

"You're cheating."

"You're just losin' it." Tom laughed.

"Lemme see your hand."

"Here," Tom held out his right hand.

"Not your _hand_, your hand of cards!" I pulled his arm and he only pulled away. "Cheaters never prosper."

"Yeah but neither do bluffers." Tom pointed out.

"I did not bluff!"

"You did so! And you were really bad at it too."

"So? I'm not that great a bluffer. Is that a crime?"

"Doug, we're playing _Go Fish_, I didn't think it was possible for anyone to be bad at _Go Fish_."

"Alright, you know what?" I exclaimed with a chuckle. I threw my cards on the table and jumped on him. "I'm gonna see your hand or you're gonna see my fist."

"You wouldn't punch me!" Tom said as he started to laugh. I held down one of his arms and pulled his cards out of the other.

"Look at this!" I said as I tossed the cards onto the coffee table. "You not only had aces but you had twos too! Hanson, I'm disappointed in you."

"Well I never win." Hanson argued in a playful tone. "Had to change that somehow."

"You should have told me, I would have let you win. I do that with my little cousins."

"I'll remember that for next time."

For a brief moment we lied there, holding onto each other and staring into each other's eyes. It was a strange moment, almost unnatural. It felt like something I never felt before. I liked it…What seemed stranger was that Tom wasn't pulling away. It was almost like he wanted me to do what I had an urge to do. To… kiss him. No, that couldn't be right. I was making something out of nothing. So I pushed myself off of him and sat back down in my armchair.

There was an awkward silence just then. Tom, looking almost disappointed, took his two and his ace and then passed them my way.

"I'll be good this time." He said in a quiet voice. "I promise."

"Alright," I picked up my hand and looked over my cards. "Got any threes?"


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_Tom Hanson_

We pretended like the card game never happened. As much as we pretended the images continuously flashed in our minds. I came so close to ruining everything and I could only hope by morning things would be going smoothly again. But I needed to talk to someone, and for this I could only talk to one person and that was Judy. She and Ioki were supposed to come over. We decided to make it a movie night, you know, stay up late and watch dozens of movies while stuffing our faces with popcorn and candy? That would set the mood right, and hopefully would lift the awkward frame of mind.

I went outside of Doug's loft and sat in the hallway waiting for Judy. The more I tried to be calm about it, the less I could contain myself. She kept telling me to talk to Doug and tell him everything. What exactly was "everything"? The fact I had liked him ever since Christmas last year. Ioki threw this party at his place and Doug and I ended up getting stinking drunk off of the eggnog. We told each other everything there was to tell. He told me about his brutal break up with Dorothy and I told him my troubles at being a bachelor. Then we started talking about what we liked in a woman, and I told him I really liked a down to earth person who had a sense of humor. Then he asked me why I said a "person" and then I told him that I was bisexual.

I never really told anyone about it because I never really pursued a guy before. The guys I knew didn't walk that side of the fence and this included Doug. He just laughed this intoxicated laugh and said how he'd never date a guy because they didn't have boobs. It was silly, it was stupid, and it wasn't something Doug didn't remember the next day. I remembered everything, unfortunately, and after that conversation I came to like Doug more and more. I tried to resist and I tried dating other people in hopes it'd take my eyes off of him but nothing worked. So I finally told Judy about it and from that point on she insisted I tell Doug while he's sober. And since then I haven't.

Things change when a person admits they have feelings for someone. No matter who holds the feelings or who the feelings are for it always ends up messy. People say that no matter what they will always be friends, but if a person doesn't return another person's feelings, things get uncomfortable. Every time you look at that person you can't help but remember being shot down, and when they look at you they are always wondering if you still feel for them. You can't play cards with them like you used to. You can't even shake their hand without a shiver running down your spine. So every time Judy suggested I tell Doug the way I felt I shot her down. I did not want to lose the friendship I had with Doug. That was more important to me than anything we could have.

I knew how Doug's mind worked. He had spent so many years with Dorothy and even though it had been nearly six months since they broke up, he was still weary of dating anyone. And for Doug, the almighty bachelor, that was strange. He had been on a date here and there but no one really stuck to him. He just didn't have faith in love anymore, and I doubted I could have been the one to change that. I chose to keep my feelings to myself and leave Doug out of it. It was for the best. We were partners after all, and if something shook our friendship then something would certainly shake our work ethic.

Judy and Ioki arrived at six o' clock sharp, right on time, and for Ioki that was a huge accomplishment. Unfortunately he couldn't take all of the credit, Judy drove. Ioki was holding onto a stack of videos so high it almost blocked his eyes. Judy held onto a bag of uncooked popcorn and her purse, getting the lighter part of the bargain. Ioki went right inside while Judy stood in front of me, noting my long face.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Something happened." I said quietly while plucking at the threads in my jeans. "…with Doug."

Judy gave me that look. Her lips sank into a pout, her eyes get glossy and big and her eyebrows narrow. This is her traditional look, "the Judy face" as I like to call it, where she shows concern for someone. And giving me this look, she let out a sigh and took a seat beside me.

"What happened?" She asked. "Did you two have an argument?"

"No, no. Nothing like that." I looked up at her for a quick moment only to look back down at the floor. Those eyes were hard to face sometimes. "I almost kissed him."

"You almost kissed him?" she asked me. "What do you mean? Did he say anything?"

"He um… we were playing cards and we started to just goof around, you know, like all guys do. And we wrestled and he was on top of me and we just locked eyes… and it felt so natural."

"Oh, Tom," she said gently. "So what happened next?"

"Then it got weird like he knew what I wanted to do. Like he could read my mind, you know? And he sat back down…. And we went on with our card game."

"Did he say anything about it?"

"No, we've just kept our distance today. We haven't had an actual conversation in like… I don't know… hours?" Worry drained the color from my face and I looked to Judy. "Jude, what if he knows? What if someone told him?"

"Relax, I doubt he knows," Judy comforted. "I haven't told anyone, you haven't told anyone… maybe it was just a thing."

"A thing?"

"Yeah, a thing that'll blow over." She pat me on the shoulder. "You want to go in there and cook some popcorn?"

"What if things get all weird again? Like if we're playing cards and-"

"Hanson," she rubbed my arm. "We won't play cards. We're just going to watch some movies, okay?"

"…Okay."

Judy managed to get me inside without any further arguments. While Ioki set up the movie I went into the kitchen to cook the popcorn. As I was pouring the popcorn into a bowl Doug came into the room. He rummaged through the fridge and pulled out a few cans of soda.

"You think we should order pizza?" he asked me.

"Um what?"

"Pizza," Doug repeated, briefly taking his head out of the fridge to glance my way. "Think we shoulder some?"

"Yeah…" I rubbed the back of my neck and hovered over the bowl, avoiding his gaze. "Yeah that'd be great."

Seconds later I felt the front of his body brush against me from behind.

"Penhall, what are you doing?" I squeaked.

I watched his arm stretch around my body and grab the phone that sitting inches from the popcorn bowl.

"Gettin' the phone, what does it look like?" He started walking out of the room, but stopped for a minute to look at me. "You okay?"

"Um, I just… it was… anchovies." I pointed to the phone. "Just don't get anchovies, k?"

"Hanson, what do you take me for?" Doug waved the phone with a chuckle. "I don't think I've ever had an anchovy in my life. You look kinda pale. You feeling okay?"

"Doug, I um… I think we should talk."

"Talk? 'Bout what?"

Could I really do this? With all that was going on, with our vacation postponed and that guy one the loose, could I really do this? Bring this out now? It was driving me absolutely crazy keeping it in. But I had to keep it to myself, right? Not jeopardize my friendship with Doug, right? That was what I wanted, right? At that point I didn't know.

Just then the phone rang. Doug gave an apologetic shrug and answered it. I could hear Fuller's deep voice, even from where I was standing. I couldn't tell what he was saying but I guessed it had to have been good considering the smile that was spreading across Doug's face.

"Hey guys!" He yelled. "The road trip is officially ON." He set the phone down and slapped me on the shoulder. "C'mon, Hanson. Fuller called us early, who'd have thunk it, huh?"

"Yeah," I said with a relieved sigh. "Who'd have thunk it…"

Thank you, Fuller. Saved by the ring.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

_Doug Penhall_

So the road trip was on. …Again. The case with the gunman was given to another department and we were told to go on with our lives but head to a different area. So we packed our things and headed out; after all we only had six days of vacation time left and there was no use waiting till morning. We managed to get another RV from the rental place (because let's face it, the other one officially had "creepy" embedded in it). We changed our path as well; instead of going south we decided to head north to Maine. Judy's family had a vacation home and allowed us to take a trip up there. Granted the trip wouldn't be as long and we wouldn't be able to go bask in the Florida sun, but word had it the carnival was in town. So it wasn't all bad right?

Tom took the first shift of driving. I originally offered but Tom insisted. It was like that guy had something on his mind and had plenty of thinking to do. He drove into the night and well after we were all tucked in. The man was bold for driving that much especially after consuming all that junk – he had to be going through a sugar crash.

We didn't talk much about the card game; it was like he completely forgot about it. Maybe I was right and I was making something out of nothing, and that relieved me. Things were back to the way they were, or so I thought.

When I woke up the next morning the RV wasn't moving. It was parked in a rest area. I rolled off of the couch and walked over to the window. Pulling back the curtain, the sun shined brightly in my eyes. With a grunt I snapped my head in the other direction and took a look at my watch. 8:15 A.M. Tom told me he'd take off the next morning around 7, so I knew he had to be asleep. That or we got pulled over – how rich that would be – a policeman getting pulled over by another policeman!

I stretched my arms above my head with a yawn and then made my way to the front. Huddled underneath his jacket in the driver seat was Tom. He was out cold and possibly in the most uncomfortable position ever. He was slouching in his seat, his head rested against the door and his legs were propped on the dashboard. I gently touched his shoulder.

"Tom?"

He jerked awake, his feet flying to the floor and his eyes snapping open.

"Mmm?" he mumbled, his arms moving beneath his jacket.

"There's a bed for you in the back you know." I joked.

"Yeah I was just really tired… thought I'd stay up here for the night."

"Hanson, what's going on?" I asked. "You've been acting real strange the last few days."

"Nothin', just you know, with everything-"

"Wait you said you had to talk to me right?"

Tom got real quiet for a moment and looked at the ground. I slumped down into the passenger seat and faced him. "Is something wrong?"

"Um, well… it's just. You know how… nevermind."

"Tom," I sighed. "You're not making any sense, man. What's up? You can tell me anything."

"…Anything?"

"Anything."

"Well," Tom started, his gaze slowly rising to meet mine. "You remember last year's Christmas party?"

"Barely!" I said with a laugh. "But from what I can remember it was pretty fun."

"Yeah, fun, um…" Tom rubbed the back of his neck. "Well we talked about somethin' and-"

"You guys better get back there," teased Judy as she poked her head in the front. "Ioki's threatening to cook breakfast, and you know what happened when he tried to cook us dinner last month."

"The oven nearly exploded!" I chuckled. "We should just stop somewhere. Like a waffle house."

"There's one down the road," Tom chipped in. "They have good hash browns."

"How would you know?" Judy asked as she raised her eyebrows.

"I went there last night to get a late night snack."

"Hanson," I said with a playful push to his arm. "You can't go roaming around at night by yourself!"

"I was hungry and I wanted something to eat. I smelled waffles and the rest is history."

"You smelled waffles all the way from here?"

"Yup."

"You're a real card, you know that Hanson?" I laughed. Tom grinned.

"Yep. Pretty aware of that."

Just then there was a bang, like the sound of pans falling to the floor.

"Ioki!" I called as I shot up. "Get your hands off of my pans!"

"What?" Ioki called from the other room. "Get off your pants?"

"Ioki, I didn't say that, I said-"

"I wouldn't want to get in your pants!"

"Ioki!"

"Penhall!"

"Just step away from the kitchenette!" I started going into the front but then turned around to face Tom. "Christmas party. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Okay." Tom replied, his voice getting suddenly quiet. "Go take care of Ioki and your pants."

"Pans, Hanson. PANS."


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

_Tom Hanson_

Judy gave me a look as Doug went into the kitchenette. Then, once Doug was out of earshot, she plopped into the passenger seat and tugged at my arm. She had this big smile on her face. I knew she was going to squeal about Doug mentioning the Christmas party, which more than likely clued her in on the fact I was going to spill everything to Doug. I was hesitant about telling him, actually, and he had me cornered with no way out. Here Judy was, like a teenage girl waiting for her other girl friend (I.E. me if I were actually a girl) to dish out the kiss-and-tell.

"Haaaannnsssooonn," she chanted as she gently shook my arm. "Did you tell him finally? He didn't seem all that upset about it!"

"Yeah, well," I sat up in my seat and shoved my jacket beneath my seat. "I almost told him. Then Ioki was gonna blow up the kitchen and I didn't get the chance to… thankfully."

"Thankfully?" Judy questioned. She sat back in her seat and shook her head, almost like she was disappointed. "Hanson, I thought you had balls."

"I do! What are you talking about?"

"Then find 'em and tell Doug how you feel. This is eatin' you up and you know it. It's a little obvious now."

"Is it?" I asked, a little worried.

"Yep. Ioki thinks you're paranoid about that guy we ran into the other day."

"I actually haven't thought of that lately…"

"He's thinking about giving you the card to his therapist."

"Ioki goes to a therapist?"

"Hanson," Judy laughed. She nudged my knee with her hand. "Tell Doug. If you don't, I will."

"Don't even think about it."

"Well every time we have this conversation, Tom, it's the same thing. You're worried about telling Doug and I keep telling you to tell Doug and you keep telling me you're too scared to. But you know what?" Judy asked. "I'm not afraid to tell Doug. I don't think he'd be all that upset about it."

"Tell Doug what?" Doug said as he came through the front curtain. He was holding onto the pans, most likely the pans Ioki originally got out, and was holding them to his chest.

"Oh, you need to hear this, Penhall!" Judy enthused while giving me the eye. It really wasn't her place to dish this out to Doug and this was Judy after all… she wouldn't dare tell Doug about my private life. It was probably a ploy to get _me_ to tell Doug so he'd hear it from the horse's mouth. And let me tell you something – it was working.

"Hear what?" Doug said. He set the pants down on the dashboard and made his way out of the RV. "Come outside and tell me; Ioki said somethin' about a flat tire?"

Judy followed Doug and I followed Judy.

"Judy c'mon, don't even think about it." I warned.

"What?" Doug turned to me and sniffed. "Do I have a boogie?"

"Doug, don't even worry-"

"Do I?"

"No, Doug. You don't have a boogie."

"So what did you wanna tell me?"

"Well he's a bit shy about it," Judy said as she hung over Doug's shoulder. "But it's juicy, lemme tell ya."

"Judy." I growled. "Just forget it."

"It's juicy?" Doug laughed and leaned against the side of the RV. "Then I definitely have to hear this." Doug being Doug was getting a kick out of my aggravation. I would have thought it was (dare I say) adorable if I weren't so… well… aggravated.

Just then there was a sound in the distance. A gunshot.

"No." I groaned as I kicked the dirt. "Not again." I was thankful for the interruption but couldn't it have been something less dangerous?

Another gunshot. This time it was closer. We immediately piled onto the bus and slammed the door shut.

"What was that?" Ioki cried as he rushed to the front. I pushed him back towards the bunks. "Was that a gun?"

"Was it the gunman?" he asked.

"It's a woman." Judy said as she peaked out the window. I huddled down to look out the window. It was a woman. A tall woman with red hair and a muscular figure was running towards us and she was armed. She had a one gun slung over her back and another in her hands. The one gun in her hand looked like a tranquilizer gun. This couldn't be good.

Suddenly there was a slap against the side of the RV. Doug peered out the window.

"It's the guy from before!" he cried out. He searched through his bag and pulled out his gun. "He's got a chick with him?"

"Did somebody lock the door?" asked Judy. Her question was answered as the door was swung open. We were all still scrambling to get our guns when a head of red appeared at the front. She instantly eyed the gun in Doug's hand and pulled the trigger on her gun. It was just a tranquilizer dart, but Doug fell to the ground, causing his gun to slide across the floor. Judy went to pick it up when the gunman slammed his gun through the window and fired at Judy. A tranquilizer dart shot into her shoulder and she collapsed to the ground. I wasted no time and grabbed Doug's gun and shot it at the gunman through the window, and then at the woman. I barely grazed the woman's shoulder but the man, I must have hit him because he screamed and went tumbling to the ground.

"Oh, boy," growled the woman in a husky and stern voice. "You're gonna pay for that." She pulled the trigger to the tranquilizer gun and then everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

_Doug Penhall_

I could hear someone whispering my name as I started to stir. My head was killing me. I could smell the moisture and mold in the air. My wrists were in so much pain.

"Penhall!" said the voice again. I slowly opened my eyes and looked over to see Judy. She was tied to a chair, her wrists tied behind the chair and her feet tied to its front legs. I was tied the same way. We were moving. As my eyes started to adjust to the atmosphere I noticed we really were moving. We were sitting in the back of a tractor trailer. Judy's chair was in one corner and my chair was in the other. The back of the truck was piled with boxes that were only a few feet away.

As the truck sped down the road, the chairs rattled against the metallic flooring.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, my voice still gruff from fatigue.

"I think so," she said with a frown. "What about you?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Where are Tom and Ioki?"

"They're not here. I woke up in this truck and they weren't here. Just us and the boxes." Judy turned to me with worried eyes. "Doug, do you think they hurt them? Like they did to that-"

"I don't know." I interrupted. I didn't mean to sound rude, but I didn't want to hear her say it. I didn't want her to ask me if they did to Tom and Ioki like they did that woman we found yesterday. It was a horrible thought and I couldn't get the image out of my head. "I just hope they're okay."

"Me too."

Suddenly the truck came to a dramatic halt which caused the boxes to slide towards us. A few tiny boxes that were on the top of the piles fell to the ground while the other (and larger) boxes charged in our direction. Judy let out a squeak and I shut my eyes. Then, in a blink of an eye, they slammed into us. My legs, my feet and the front of my body throbbed with a stinging pain. One box was pushing down on my foot while the other was leaning against my side. The boxes were so close that I could smell the cardboard.

"Doug?" Judy called.

"Yeah, Judy?"

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, and you?" I winced and wiggled in my chair, hoping that it would help, but of course it didn't. I was tied down in a chair, I couldn't move much. In fact I couldn't really move at all. So there I was faced to face with box after box after box. "We have to get out of here."

"You just let me know when you figure out how." Judy said, her voice muffled underneath a pile of boxes.

"HEY!" I screamed. "HEY, LET US OUT OF HERE."

"Doug, I'm not sure if they'll hear-"

"C'MON." I continued. "LET'S JUST-"

"Doug!" she hissed. "I really don't think that'll help."

"It's worth a try. Maybe they'll open the door and-"

"And then what? We'll just spit in their faces? That's about all we can do."

"Well in certain countries that is considered a serious offense."

"Doug," she moaned. "I'm serious. How are we going to get out of here?"

"I don't know, maybe we could uh…" I looked around, hoping to see a latch on the door or something. But I didn't see a latch. Know what I saw? BOXES. Nothing but boxes and let me tell you, I was getting sick of it. "LET US OUTTA HERE."

Judy sighed. Yeah, yeah, I know, Doug Penhall was too stubborn for his own good. But it wasn't like I could just karate chop my way out of this. My mouth was the only thing I had.

"LET US OUTTA HERE!" I yelled. The truck stopped. Things were still. "See, Jude? All it takes is a little bit of persuasion and-"

"Quit your whinin'!" called the female fugitive through the door. I felt the cool air hit me from behind as the door opened. The truck tipped down briefly as the woman stepped onto the truck. She was holding onto a rag and she didn't look too happy to see me. Roughly grabbing my shoulder, she shoved the rag in my mouth and then hopped outside. "We'll be there in a few hours. Until then just sit tight." With a sinister grin she added, "Not like you have a choice right?" As she reached for the door's handle she glared at Judy. "Not a peep out of you or you'll get gagged, got it?"

The door shut with a blow, causing its slam to echo throughout the trailer. Great! I was gagged, I couldn't talk. I was tied down, I couldn't move. I was officially a helpless victim. So with nothing else to do, I started wiggling in my seat. It rocked from side to side, the boxes against me moving in rhythm with the chair. Left, right, left, right… gradually the boxes were moving further away. Left, RIGHT, left, RIGHT… The chair began to squeak and its wooden legs were starting to give way. I shook harder, the feet of the chair thumping against the floor with each shake. LEFT, right, LEFT, right – _THUD! _The chair finally fell to the ground. When it collided against the titanium floor the back of the chair snapped. It broke! I could actually move!

"Doug!" Judy whispered. "Are you okay?"

"Mhm," I managed to mumble. "Ba ber book." I should know better than to talk with my mouth full because no one would understand me."

"Penhall, I can't understand a word you're saying."

See?

When the chair snapped, the arms and legs loosened. I rattled my hands, hoping the arms would break away from the base of the chair. I persisted and persisted until at last I heard a crack. _Finally_. The arms of the chair had snapped, wooden splinters lined the jagged edge from where it broke off. Although my hands were still attached to the wooden arms I was still able to move my hands, so the first thing I did was take the gag out of my mouth.

"I said the chair broke." I clarified as I rushed to untie my legs. Then I pushed the boxes aside until I found Judy. Boxes were covering her head to toe. Luckily most of them weren't that big, she got the lighter part of the bargain by getting covered in the small boxes that were on top of the pile. Still, she looked uncomfortable and who wouldn't be? I untied her arms and then her legs. "You'd think they would have had metal chairs or something so we couldn't escape so easily."

"I don't think they're that fortunate." Judy mentioned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I heard her talking on the phone with someone about eviction." She said sadly.

"Then why is she doing all this?"

"I don't know, maybe ransom?" Judy shrugged. Leaning over, she tugged at the door of the truck. "Doug…"

"Huh?"

"Look." She gestured to the light coming out from underneath the door. "It's unlocked. You'd think they'd be better at this hostage thing."

"Maybe it's their first go at it." I pointed out. "But hey, we can go through the "what" and "why" later, let's jet."

I slowly pulled the door open while Judy closely listened for the woman. She didn't seem to think this out thoroughly so I had a feeling she probably would not hear us leaving. But then you have to factor in the truck was moving and as soon as we opened that door boxes would go flying out of it and so would we. We couldn't be as quiet as a mouse but we could probably go by unnoticed, or at least get a head start before she came after us.

The road was falling behind us with the yellow street lines becoming a blur. There was no one behind us, thankfully, and that would make this easier (because hey, I wasn't ready to jump onto someone's hood). I opened the door just enough so we could jump onto the road. I reached out for Judy's hand.

"You ready?" I asked her. Judy took my hand and squeezed it tight.

"As I'll ever be." She said. "On three?"

"1… 2… 3!"

We jumped out of the truck and went tumbling to the ground. My body slid against the gravel and I could feel the rocks tearing at my skin. For now I had to push the pain aside because departing from the truck right after us were the boxes. "Judy!" I called as I tugged her arm. "C'mon, let's go!"

The boxes were flying out one by one… small, medium _and_ big. They were hitting us from behind but we kept moving. There was no time to groan and whine; we had to get as far away from that truck as possible. We escaped into the wooded area and ran as fast as our feet would take us. We knew she would catch on quick and would come after us as soon as she could. This was going to turn into a goose chase, but if Judy and I were lucky, we could at least get to the nearest police station and have this done with. And hopefully, _hopefully_, Tom and Ioki would be alive and rescued.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

_Tom Hanson_

I smelled chili. Not the best choice of scent to wake up to after being shot down and kidnapped.

"I took 'em to the house since the hotel was closed for maintenance," said a voice. "Aw, baby, don't yell at me, I'm doing what I can! What was I gonna do at the hotel anyway? Pardon myself from bringin' in two unconscious cops?"

My wrists were tied together behind my back and my feet were binded together with duct tape. Duct tape?

"Duct tape?" I muttered.

"He ran out of rope." I looked to my right and saw Ioki who was wearing the same tired and bewildered expression I was. "Mornin'."

"So where the heck are we?" I asked him.

"I have no idea, but I think it's his house." Ioki gestured to the man on the phone; It was the male gunman. "And that lady he's talking to?"

"The female gunman?"

"Yep. Probably his wife. Or girlfriend. Or something."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, for one," Ioki nodded his head towards the guy. "Listen to his conversation."

"Don't give me that," argued the man into the phone. "We can't lead anyone to our house when they weren't even awake when – baby, come on! Just relax!"

"Something obviously went wrong." I remarked.

Just then we heard a soft voice coming from the back bedroom. It was very gentle yet bright and young. The voice belonged to a child, a young boy, barely old enough to talk. His small nose was poking out the crack of the door.

"Daddy?" he asked in a quivering tone. "Daddy, my arm's burnin' again."

His father, the gunman, continued bickering on the phone, unaware of his son. "Daddy?" the boy continued. "Daddy, I need some of that cream stuff that Mama used on me last night." Seeing his father's back turned to him, the boy slowly walked out of the room. His arm was red and burned, so was the right part of his face. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he stepped forward, his eyes sparkling of curiosity. At his father's side, the boy tugged his father's shirt. "Daddy, why are there two men here? And why are they tied up?"

The man turned to his son and in a sharp tone he said his goodbyes and hung up the phone.

"Mackie, what's wrong?" asked the man as he knelt in front of the boy. The boy, Mackie, held out his arm and sniffled back his tears.

"My arm's really hurtin', Daddy." He whimpered. His father leaned over and reached for a tube sitting on the coffee table. It was first aid cream; when he opened the tube, the boy smiled faintly and held out his arm. As his father spread the cream on the wounded limb, the boy sighed of relief. "It's feelin' much better now." He said. The quivers in his voice were gone. He looked at me, bewildered, and then looked to his father again. "Daddy, who are those men?"

"You go in your room and let that arm dry, okay?" The father said as he turned around his son. He pushed Mackie towards the bedroom. "Your cartoons will be coming on and you don't want to miss those, do you?" The boy's eyes lit up.

"No sir!" he squealed. Mackie ran back into his room and shut the door. Moments later we could hear the television. "Daddy, it's Mickey! You gonna come watch Mickey with me?"

"I'll be there in a few minutes, okay sweetheart?" his father assured. He waited for his son to mumble an 'okay' before flopping down in the arm chair across from us. "You don't make any trouble and we'll have no reason to kill you."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"She'll be here in a few hours and I suggest you not talk around her," warned the man. "She won't be as understanding."

"Daddy!" called Mackie from the other room. "Daddy, are you comin' or what? Mickey's going fishing with Donald and Goofy!"

"I'll be back in a half hour to check on you two." He said in a soft voice. He didn't sound strict nor did he sound forceful. He almost sounded friendly.

"Who are you?" I asked. The man started towards the room and as he turned the door knob, he briefly turned to me.

"Calvin."

I waited until the door was shut to look over at Ioki.

"Something's up," I told him. "That was strange."

"Their kid's here… and they're holding us hostage." Ioki said as he pieced things together in his head. "And he didn't gag us or take a gun to our heads."

"Did you see a daughter?" I asked. Ioki looked at me with a puzzled expression. I nodded towards the coffee table. There was a picture, a family portrait, of the man, the woman, Mackie and a young girl. She looked to be about Mackie's age and height with her mom's eyes and her father's nose. She was missing a front tooth but her smile was still bright and infectious. In the photograph Mackie didn't have any burns or scars.

"No, he didn't mention having one." Ioki stared at the picture and widened his eyes as a thought occurred. "Do you think all this is about her? The girl in the portrait?"

"Why do you think that?"

"She looks familiar." Ioki mentioned. "I just can't put my finger on it."

"I wonder if something happened to her," I mumbled. "The boy had burns… maybe she didn't survive whatever happened and-"

"And they're holding us hostage until they nab the murderer?"

"Yeah. Doesn't really add up though."

This was a family, a husband and wife with children; why would they take four people hostage? They were inexperienced in every way possible; this was probably their first time attempting something like this… but why? There was a piece of the puzzle missing and we were going to get to the bottom of this. First we had to get a grip of what was going on and there was one person in particular I wanted to go to. Mackie.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

_Doug Penhall_

We heard the truck screech its tires momentarily after we darted into the wooded area. The truck had made a sharp turn around a corner and sped off in that direction, leaving us and the boxes behind. I watched from behind the trees and waited until I could no longer hear the truck's roaring engine before walking into the street.

"What are you doing?" Judy asked in a hushed whisper. "She could be coming back!"

"I want to see where the boxes came from; maybe they'll tell us where we are." I looked around the area. We definitely were nowhere near the chapel that was for sure. "Because we really need to know where we are." I picked up a box that was sitting on the edge of the road and read the label. "Tennessee." I said. "They moved us all the way down to Tennessee. We're nowhere near the chapel… and God only knows where Tom and Ioki are."

"I'm sure they're okay," Judy comforted. She placed her hand on my arm. "We should find the nearest phone and call Fuller. To let him know what's up." She looked down the road we just traveled. "There's a phone booth down the street okay? You got any quarters?"

"I'll check, but they probably swiped all our stuff from us when they knocked us out." I shuffled through my pockets. My wallet was still there. I opened my wallet. My license, credit cards and cash were all in tact. "That's strange; nothing's missing." I pulled out a few quarters and started for the payphone.

Judy and I crammed inside the booth. I dialed the number and held the receiver to my ear as Judy watched my face. The phone rang and rang and rang. I hung up and tried again. It rang and rang and rang – then a sharp voice came over the speaker.

"Hello?" It was Fuller, thankfully.

"Sir, it's me."

"Penhall, what are you doing calling here?" Fuller asked in a bright tone. "How's your vacation?"

"They took us. They tranquilized us and we're in Tennessee in some phone booth and I'm with Judy and we have no idea where Hanson and Ioki are and-"

"Whoa, whoa," Fuller said in a more serious tone. "Slow down – where you are?"

"Tennessee. They took us here."

"Who?"

"The gunmen from before. Judy and I here and-"

"And Hanson?" inquired Fuller. "Ioki?"

"I was hoping you would have heard from them." I said in a squeaky tone. I could feel the tears filling my eyes. That man had him and we weren't sure where he went off to or what he wanted. "What are we gonna do?"

"Listen to me carefully, Penhall." Fuller stated. "You're going to take Judy and ask around town. See if anyone saw these people or our officers, got it? I'm going to check my records, ask around and see what I can dig up. You call me back at 6 p.m. okay?"

"Yes sir." I rubbed my temples. I kept seeing Tom and Ioki tied up as we were, in the back of a truck, injured and helpless. Without another moment of hesitation I hung up the phone and dabbed at my eyes. "He wants us to look around for Tom and Ioki. We gotta call him back tonight at 6."

"It's gonna be okay," Judy assured with a nod. "We'll find them okay?"

"Where are we going to start? We don't even know what the man looks like!"

"We saw him on the RV," she corrected. "We can go by what we saw."

"Yeah but we only saw him for a second. What are we gonna do? We're not even armed. And Hanson's out there…. God." I leaned against the wall of the phone booth and sighed. "What if they didn't make it?"

"I'm sure they're fine, these people are bad criminals remember?" She pulled out her wallet and waved it in front of me. "They didn't rob us, they tied us in wooden chairs and put us in a..." She grabbed the box out of my hand and read the label. "Toy truck and they're just bad criminals. They're inexperienced. They wouldn't kill anyone and remember Hanson and Ioki are cops, they can handle-"

"I never got to tell him it meant something." I whispered. And depending on what happened to him, I probably wouldn't have the chance to tell him.

"Got to tell who what?"

"Hanson." I looked at Judy and then sighed. "It's stupid, never mind."

"No it isn't," Judy said. "I'm sure it isn't stupid."

"There was just this thing at my place… we played cards and we were on the couch…"

"It meant something." she told me.

"He told you about it?" I asked. I couldn't picture Tom telling Judy about our moment on the couch. "About how we had a moment? It was crazy, but I wanted to-"

"You remember how I told you there was some juicy info I needed to tell you about Hanson?"

"Yeah."

She pat me on the back and smiled.

"It meant something. But let him tell you okay?"

"How do I even know if he's here?" I asked Judy. "What if no one's seen 'em?"

"They had to have taken the RV somewhere," Judy pointed out. "So we'll head around to the nearest place and start asking around, k?" I looked to her with sad eyes.

"K."


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

_Tom Hanson_

A knock on the door stirred me from my sleep. As my eyes adjusted to the room I glanced at the clock. It had been an hour since Calvin had checked on us and with nothing else to do, we rested. The only person we were looking for was Mackie and we couldn't talk to him until he came out of the room. People knew how to lie to cover up the truth, no matter how horrible or how pleasant the truth may be. However the most honest and pure people are children and Mackie was no exception. Continuously asking his father questions, Mackie talked about his mother and asked what other two people his father kept referring to.

Calvin's wife had called and informed him that she lost track of her two hostages, presumably Doug and Judy. They supposedly escaped and were out on the run. Instead of going after them, Calvin's wife fled back home, which left Doug and Judy to roam. It was a relief to know they were no longer in the same situation we were. Maybe they went to get back up, call Fuller, or to find the truck. Whatever they were doing, they weren't here, however Calvin's wife was. She was knocking on the door and calling out for Calvin, her voice full of anger.

"Calvin!" she called as she banged on the door. "Calvin, open up, I lost my keys!"

Calvin stormed out of the room, Mackie skipping out behind him, and pulled the door open. They immediately got into an argument, Calvin shouting at her for losing track of Doug and Judy while his wife yelled at him for taking us to their home (instead of the hotel like they originally planned). The argument went back and forth for minutes while Mackie stood off to the side and watched his face depressing as the bickering continued. Finally, he reached out and tugged on his mother's shirt. This caught her attention, and as she looked down to her son, she smiled and scooped him up in her arms.

"Hey there, baby," she said as she pressed her forehead against his. "Did you have a good day today?"

"I ate chili then I watched cartoons then I colored and now I'm gonna go get a pear from the kitchen!" Mackie squeaked. He wiggled out his mother's arms and ran to the kitchen, his tiny pudgy legs wobbling as he went. I couldn't help the smile on my face; the kid was adorable and possibly the most hyperactive human being on the face of the earth. The wife suddenly turned to us, looking at Ioki first and then me. The smile she got from seeing her smile quickly faded and turned into a bitter frown. "They're not going anywhere." She hissed to her husband. "The others have probably gone and turned us in and we can't afford to let them loose. They know where we live now."

"We're gonna figure things out, Sandra," Calvin said. "We should move out tonight, just in case your hostages snitched."

"We should just kill one of 'em," growled the woman, Sandra. She fished in her purse and pulled out a handgun. Then she rushed over and shoved the barrel against Ioki's head. "You know, let them know that we're serious."

"No, we're not shooting anyone!" Calvin ordered, his tone suddenly becoming strict. "Put that gun away, Sandra. We can't kill anyone." Cue the mental sigh of relief from Ioki and I. "Not yet anyway." Darn! "We're moving out tonight and we're going to stay out of town until this blows over."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked them. Sandra turned to face me, her eyebrows narrowed and smoke coming from her ears.

"None of your damn business!"

"Mama?" called Mackie from the kitchen. "Why _are_ you doin' this?"

Sandra only stared at her son with eyes full of wonder. She was speechless. Calvin was speechless. She wasn't sure how to tell her son that she had kidnapped four people and that two of them were loose and would probably turn in her and her husband. She looked over at Calvin who reached and took the gun from his wife's hand.

"We're not shooting anybody. We're not telling our son anything and you guys," he gestured to me and Ioki. "You guys aren't doing anything, got it? Not until we hear from Mandy." Mandy? There was another person involved? This soap opera never ended! "I sent the ransom note before coming back here. I said we'd call her tonight. Until then, you go pack up some clothes and food and I'll go get us a car." Calvin set the gun on the counter. "Don't use that. I'm warnin' you, Sandra. We don't need an attempted murder charge. We're in deep as it is."

Sandra took the gun and shoved it in her purse, never taking her eyes off of us as she did. Oh, this day was going to get better and better, I could just _see_ it.

"I'm gonna be right in the next room," she warned. "Calvin, come on."

"Nah, I'm gonna stay here and eat my pear." Mackie stated through a mouthful of fruit.

"Alright, but you just be careful." Sandra warned. It wasn't like we could do anything if we wanted to – we were tied up. Obviously she found enough comfort in that to leave us alone because she went back into the bedroom and shut the door. Mackie waited a few seconds before hopping down from his chair and walking over to us. He took a seat in front of us and crossed his legs Indian style.

"Hi!" he said in a chipper voice. Ioki looked over at me and I nodded. Yep. We had to question the kid while we had him alone, even if there was a psycho woman in the other room waiting to pounce.

"Hi." I replied in a quiet tone.

"Mama was talkin' to Daddy earlier on the phone."

"Was she?" Ioki humored. "What was she saying?"

"She was talking about ending y'all." Mackie stated with a shrug. "Whatever that means. That doesn't mean she's gon' spank ya on your rear end does it? 'Cause spankings are really bad. I don't like spankings. I got one the other day when I drew a bear on the wall."

"No, she isn't going to spank us." I assured him. Ending us? That woman had murder scribbled on her forehead. "Did they say anything about that girl in that picture over there?" I nodded towards the family photograph Ioki and I had talked about earlier. Mackie's face saddened a little as he glanced at the picture.

"Oh, that's Beverly. She isn't with us anymore." Mackie drew imaginary pictures in the carpet. "We used to live a few streets up until our house burned down. And now we live here and we coulda fixed the house we lived in but Daddy said it hurt Mama too much 'cause Bev didn't make it."

"I'm sure Bev is doing great wherever she is now." I comforted.

"She had twice as many burns as I have," Mackie said, waving his injured arm. "And she went to the hospital and we had this nurse and her name was Mandy and she said she'd fix Bev all up. Then she talked about endurance and how the endurance wouldn't cover the Bev's fences. I don't know what that was about; we didn't even have any fences!"

I had to think about that for a second. Endurance… fences…

"The insurance," Ioki whispered. "They couldn't cover the expenses."

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "I knew that." It would have taken me a few more minutes but I would have gotten it. It was slowly beginning to make sense now. For whatever reason, Calvin and Sandra's insurance would not support the hospital bill so they had to pay for Beverly's treatment with their own money. With seeing how run down the house appeared to be, I was guessing they couldn't afford to pay them back.

"We had to sell the car to pay the bill," explained Mackie. "And now they're gonna take our house away if we don't pay the fences. Whatever that means. Hey, why do ya need to know all this stuff anyway?"

"We might be able to help," I told Mackie. "But first you have to-"

"Mackie!" called Sandra. "What you doin' in there?" _First you have to untie us…_ I was getting to that, but Sandra appropriately interrupted us and Mackie went flying into the other room. 'I was just talkin', Mama.' he said to her.

"They're holding us ransom until Mandy pays off the debts." I told Ioki. "That's a little drastic."

"They probably think she killed Bev." Ioki pointed out. "And they want to make her pay. Why not have her pay off the debts and even cost a few policemen their lives?"

"Ioki?"

"Yeah?"

"You _suck_ at bedside manner."

"Sorry."

"Why'd she pick us though? It's like they sought us out specifically." I bit my lip as I went into thought. The family looked so familiar yet I couldn't place my finger on it.

"Didn't you date someone named Mandy?" Ioki asked.

"Yeah but that didn't last more than a week. She was clingy and wanted to move in together after three days." I shuddered with just thinking about her.

"Wasn't she a nurse?" he asked.

"Yeah but she relocated to Tennessee shortly after we broke up." I sighed. "Thankfully."

"Hanson?"

"Yeah?"

"We're in Tennessee."

"…Ugh!" I moaned. "Of all people to know… to date… Maybe it's not her."

"It makes sense though," he said. "All of this probably happened while you were dating her. Maybe you called her at work or something and she said your name out loud. If she was as clingy and in love with you as you say she was, they probably wanted your head on the chopping block, you know to get the best reaction with the ransom. And we just happened to be with you when they found you."

"Ioki!"

"What?"

"I don't want to think it's her."

"I know you don't want to think this is all because you dated her," Ioki started. "But that's not it."

"I know it's not." I told him. "I just don't want to see her again. She was clingy and cried oceans when I told her it wasn't working out. And we only went on two dates. And she left me all these messages on my answering machine and…"

"Hanson, you either have to face this like a man or die."

"…Well."

"Hanson!"

"Sorry, sorry! Fine, we'll bust out of here once we come up with a plan and then I'll inform Fuller of Mandy. Maybe then we can look up this incident in the papers and get a feel of what the hell is going on."

"Sounds good to me." Ioki said. "And Hanson?"

"Yeah?"

"You need to stop dating clingy women." He shook his head. "It's putting our lives in danger."


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

_Doug Penhall_

"Are you sure you haven't seen it? A huge RV. Big. White and red. BIG."

"I'm sure I haven't seen it; it's hard to miss something like that."

"Because this is the fifth place we've been to and no one's seen the RV or the people inside it…"

"Penhall!"

"Hoffs!"

"The man said he didn't see it, so he didn't see it. Can we move on?"

Our day was going downhill and it wasn't even sunset yet. We walked until we managed to find a small plaza of businesses. There was a car shop, a bakery, a general store and a chain of restaurants. We started with the restaurants and made our way down and with only the car shop left, we were starting to lose hope. Well, let me rephrase that. I was losing hope and Judy had more hope then ever. Most of the time it was refreshing to see a glimmer of hope in her eyes, but at that very moment I was not looking for hope. I was looking for Tom, Ioki, and that stupid RV.

"Fine, fine, fine!" I moaned. I slammed my fist on the counter of the bakery and stormed out the door. Judy quickly followed behind him.

"You know maybe they'd be more cooperative if you didn't get in their faces like that," she offered in an unusually aggravated tone. Well, I wouldn't consider it unusual since I was pretty much acting like a jerk. But hey, I had a good reason…

"You gotta be a dog to work with the dogs," I told her. See? Made perfect sense right?

"Doug, that doesn't make any sense." Pfft. _Women_. What'd they know anyway?

"It makes sense!" I argued. "You have to get in the face of a dog and let him know who is boss. Then he'll let you have your way. Get what you want. Get what you need."

"These aren't dogs, these are people." Judy said as we approached the car shop's entrance. She leaned against the front door. "You have to promise me you're not going to tear off anymore heads, okay?"

"…Fine."

Judy nodded with a satisfied smirk and walked inside. I followed her in and went up to the front desk. Two men were huddled over a pile of paperwork and speaking in hushed voices. Nothing suspicious, just two men working. I knocked on the tabletop and cleared my throat.

"Excuse me," I said as I leaned over the desk. "We're looking for a RV." The men turned around, one wearing a long face while the other wore one of those 'I'm happy to serve you, customer, but I would rather be at home watching television' faces.

"RV…" muttered one as he ruffled through the papers. "Name?"

"Oh, uh, we don't have one." I pulled my badge out of my pocket and showed it to them. "But we're looking for one."

The men immediately perked up, one telling the other to go bring around the RV.

"Yeah, we had two people bring in the RV and rent a car." His eyes lit up as he came across the page he was searching for. He shoved it under my nose. "Calvin and Sandra Fitzgerald."

"Calvin and Sandra…" I read over the page.

"Said they had a family emergency to tend to and they couldn't take the RV. Height restrictions within the area or something."

"Mhm, that's something alright." I noticed the RV coming around front. "You wanna stay with the RV? Probably get Fuller down here and clear it as evidence? I'll keep looking for our boys."

"Penhall, are you sure?" she asked, weary of my attitude that I had displayed earlier. "Cause I don't think Fuller would like to get complaints in regards to your hot head."

"I'll be a good boy," I promised. "I'm just gonna see if I can track these people down. What kinda car did they get?"

"An '83 station wagon."

"Ick," I muttered. "You'd think if they were stupid enough to use their real names on a form then they'd have enough stupidity to get a nice car."

"Doug!" Judy scolded.

"What? Only stating the obvious." I folded the paper and tucked it in my pocket. "You got it from here, Jude?"

"I got it." She pat me on the back as I walked out the door. "And Doug? Give 'em both a hug when you find them okay?"

"I don't know, Jude, at this point they're considered criminals and-"

"Ioki and Hanson!" Judy laughed. "Hug _them_ for me."

"You got it." I winked at her and made my exit. I was off to find me two fugitives and my boys. Hopefully they were still in one piece and the first stop? Their home sweet home.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

_Tom Hanson_

"Calvin, for cryin' out loud, we don't have time to sort through the fridge!" hissed Sandra. We were getting ready to leave for wherever our next hideout was. Sandra was standing by the door with Mackie in her arms and duffel bags were piled high in the car. Ioki and I remained tied up and seated on the living room floor. Calvin was in the kitchen packing a bag full of food.

"We need stuff to eat!" growled Calvin. "We're going to feed five people and we don't even have enough to feed one!"

"We can buy some on the way over," said Sandra as she shifted nervously from side to side. "Come on, Calvin, baby, we can't just stay here. They're out lookin' for these two."

"You don't have to do it this way," I told them in a comforting tone. "You can pay for your debt and mourn over Beverly at the same time. You don't have to make it a violent scene."

"You don't understand, we need to – wait – how'd you know about Beverly? You remember her from Mandy?"

"No, I just-"

"So you're not Tom Hanson then?" asked Calvin. "So that means he is." He pointed to Ioki.

"Well, I-"

"For god's sake, Calvin just shut it and let's get them in the car."

The gravel creaked as a car pulled up the pathway. Sandra peaked out the window and muttered curse words under her breath. "It's one of 'em." She muttered. "It's one of those cops that escaped – we have to get going _now_, Calvin."

"But we need a hostage for this to work, baby, why don't we just tranquilize him and-"

"Just grab Hanson and let's go! We need to get to the hideout before this place is swamped with cops."

"FREEZE!" Called the voice. It was Doug. It was Doug! "Police!"

"Which one of you is Hanson?" muttered Calvin.

"Just grab one and let's go! I'm going out to the car." Sandra rushed out to the car while Calvin hurried out with Ioki in his arms.

"Hey!" I called as I tried to wiggle my way out of the rope. "Hey, leave him. I'm Hanson. I'm Hanson!"

It was too late. They took Ioki out to the car just as Doug was climbing out of his. I watched as Calvin shoved Ioki into the back seat and dug into one of the bags. And there it was again, the tranquilizer gun. Calvin knew it would buy them time and prevent a wild goose chase. Or at least I hoped it was only a tranquilizer gun. I heard a sharp shot and watched as Doug fell to the ground. Then Calvin and Sandra started bickering again, but the bickering only lasted a few seconds. Footsteps ascended the stairs and the door flew open. Then I found myself face to face with a tranquilizer gun.

"Calvin, come on, don't do this." I pleaded. "You do this and you're surely in the jailhouse…"

"I'm sorry, son, but,"

"What about Mackie? When you two go in the jailhouse-"

"No, that won't happen. We're not gonna get caught."

And then he pulled the trigger and things went black.

- - - - - - - -

"C'mon, buddy," I heard him whisper. "C'mon, just open those eyes for me, okay?"

I slowly opened my eyes and there he was. The poofy brown hair, the classic denim jacket and those big brown eyes a person could drown in. It was Doug. He was knelt beside me. His eyes were beautiful but red and he looked dead on his feet, probably just as I did. When he saw my eyes open he let out a sigh of relief and held me close.

"I thought you were dead," he said as he buried his head in his neck. Something felt different in his embrace with his face against my skin. "I know you were only tranquilized before but earlier… when I wasn't around…"

"But I'm here." I whispered, unable to tear my eyes away from his. There was something about his stare. It was different from before. It was like we were on the couch at his place and going through that awkward moment again, but this time it wasn't awkward. "I'm okay. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He pulled back and brushed his thumb across my cheek, his eyes never leaving mine. "Fuller wants us to stay here until he arrives. He has to finish up things with Judy and then meet with the Tennessee police to figure out what's going on. He should be here in about twenty minutes."

"Okay." I nodded. "I'm feeling kinda woozy."

"Yeah it's normal… I've got the same thing." He stared at me for a few seconds and I could see a question lingering in his mind that he was hesitating to ask.

"You okay, Doug?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just…" He rubbed the back of his neck and bit his lip. "I uh… know this isn't the right time and place to talk about it, but earlier you kept trying to tell me something."

"Yeah…" There were suddenly butterflies in my stomach. What if I told him right there and then that I had feelings for him? After what just happened with Calvin and Sandra, and Ioki being taken hostage, was it the best time? The heart doesn't lie, but the heart also knows what it wants and my heart wanted Doug. I wanted to tell him, I honestly did, and we had twenty minutes to spare, so why wouldn't I? What if he thought I was being insensitive towards Ioki, towards the entire situation and the Jump Street program, by telling him my emotions? Granted we just found each other after what could have been a fatal situation, so it was normal to feel an enormous sense of love and compassion but –

My thoughts were silenced as Doug pressed his lips against mine. A short and delicate kiss to my lips. Then he pulled away and looked down at me.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"No," I replied. He turned away, disappointment in his eyes, and I gently cupped his face with my hands. Pulling his face to mine I kissed him hard on the lips. It wasn't the short and sweet gesture he had presented me; I presented _him_ with what I had wanted to do since the Christmas party. My lips against his, I waited for a reaction. I half expected him to push me away, but he didn't. He leaned in and kissed me back with just as much force. After a moment we pulled away, tiny smiles on our faces and my hand in his. "I wanted to talk about _that_."

"Is that why you've been acting so offbeat lately?" Doug asked me as he squeezed my hand.

"Yeah, I just didn't know how to approach you. We're partners and all you know? I didn't want to ruin anything."

"You aren't ruining anything," Doug explained through a yawn. "In fact you've made things better."

"We have twenty minutes," I explained. "You can just take a nap if you want. I'll stay awake and wait for Fuller."

"No, I don't want to sleep." Doug said with a shake of his head. "You know what I wanna do?"

"What?"

Doug pounced on top of me and we tumbled to the floor chuckling. He kissed me again.

"This." Then he kissed me harder, his hand trailing up my shirt. "And maybe a little of that."

"No complaints here," I said. "Which one did you wanna start with? This or that?"

Doug smiled. I smiled. The next twenty – now nineteen – minutes were going to be memorable. Memorable indeed.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

_Doug Penhall_

Time slipped away from us; five minutes went by, ten minutes flew by and before we knew it, twenty minutes had come and gone. We were still on the floor and we were still in the middle of possibly the best make-out session I have ever taken part in and we had no plans of stopping. If you could imagine yourself in my shoes: I'm kissing someone who I recently came out to with my feelings and we were celebrating with a little bit of tonsil hockey, except we were participating in another version of tonsil hockey that only allowed us to wear pants. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we were on our way to going to third base, or maybe the home stretch if time allowed us, but time was not on our side. And suddenly, as a knock sounded at the door, I realized there was someone on the _other_ _side_ of the door. It felt so nice, being here with Tom and playing hockey that I didn't think to realize who it _was_ at the door. So a minute went by, and me thinking it was nobody, I ignored it (I don't even think Tom heard it). One thing we did hear? The door swing open and Fuller's deep voice. 

"What the hell do you guys think you're doin'?" he growled.

Tom and I immediately put an end to our 'hockey game' and shot to our feet. Fuller slammed the door shut and walked towards us. He didn't like what he saw. We knew we'd be in for a lecture about dating in the workplace, or maybe he was just freaked out because we were two lady-loving men who were in love with each other. He could be a very open-minded person, but under the circumstances he found us under I could see why he wasn't.

"Well obviously you two are okay," The anger in his face started to fade. "Otherwise you wouldn't be on the floor thinking this was a whore house."

"Sir…" I started.

"Your fellow cop, your friend, Ioki is currently with a pair of psychos and you're in here… doing this."

"It's our way of saying hello to one another," I joked. "And sir, I haven't had the chance to greet you…"

"Don't get cute with me, Penhall." warned Fuller. "Get your shirts on and let's go."

"You know, sir, a good way to start off your day is to say hello to your friends." Tom teased.

"You get those lips near me, Hanson and I will knock you and Penhall to the moon."

"I've not been there before," I said as he turned to Tom. "What about you, Hanson?"

"I've never been! Do you think they have mini-bars?"

"Probably that astronaut food-"

"Excuse me!" Fuller exclaimed. "Do you see me smiling?"

"No, but you know what always makes me smile, sir?" I asked.

"Penhall, I'm warning you…"

"A good knock-knock joke."

"Yeah?" Fuller asked. "Well knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

"Getcho."

"Getcho who?"

"Getcho ass out there before I throw you out there."

Tom and I made our way out to the car, shirts in hand, still smiling. Aggravating Fuller was probably one of my favorite hobbies and it was all in good fun. He knew we were only trying to lighten the mood. We knew Ioki was out there but we knew that we couldn't do anything until Fuller got there. Besides, the criminals weren't so good at being criminals, they weren't going to hurt Ioki… or at least I hoped not.

We sat in the back of Fuller's car and shortly after the car took off I noticed Tom's eyes were on their way to closing. I gently slapped his arm.

"Hey, man. You feelin' okay?" I asked. His eyes fluttered open and he looked at me.

"Yeah, just the darts," Tom said with a shrug. "You know, still making me woozy."

"Yeah me too."

"Well wake up, guys," Fuller said while glancing back through the rearview mirror. "You're going undercover."

"Are we going after Calvin and Sandra?" Tom asked curiously.

"Sort of." Fuller shrugged. "Calvin is affiliated with Bruno Briggs, a hefty guy who owns a bar downtown. The folks at the Tennessee police office say he's a lady's man with a big mouth. I need you guys to go to the bar and get some information from him – he should know where Calvin and Sandra are."

"Why would Calvin tell Bruno his whereabouts when he's on the run?"

"Calvin owes Bruno big money from when he borrowed to try and pay for their daughter's expenses," explained Fuller. "He's promised to give him some of the ransom money when he gets it. If Bruno doesn't know where Calvin is he'll assume Calvin ran off with the money and come after and kill him."

"So he needs to cover his tail," I figured out loud. "Just so he and his family aren't hunted down."

"Exactly. The easiest way to get Bruno to open his mouth is by sweet talkin' him and he loves women…"

"Ugh," moaned Tom. "I'm not dressing up like a woman. I always end up being the woman."

"You're not dressing up like a woman," Fuller pointed out. "You _and_ Penhall are dressing up like women. And you're both going to seduce him and you're both going to come back with information."

"Why can't Judy do this?" I asked. "She's a woman ya know."

"She's still working with the RV trying to get evidence and clues."

"I've heard you're the romancin' kind," I teased Fuller. "We could just watch over your car and you could-"

"I don't look good in tights." He replied. "But you and Hanson are the two most feminine looking guys I know."

"Well, gee, thanks, Captain," laughed Hanson. "It's good to know you think of us highly."

"The only men on my force who could work high heels." Fuller laughed. "Okay, we're pulling around a corner and guys?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Keep the kissing to a minimum when you're around him, k?"

"I could never imagine kissing a guy named 'Bruno' anyway."

"I meant you two kissing _each other_. You'll be sisters for this case and well," Fuller pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car. "We don't need anyone thinking you're in love with each other when you're 'blood related'."

"You know," I started. "In some countries it's only natural to marry your siblings."

"Penhall…" Fuller sighed.

"Okay, okay. No kissing." Gee, couldn't the guy take a joke? Well, then again, if he had enough humor to tell a knock-knock joke and dress his officers in heels, then he probably had a decent sense of humor. Me in a dress – that's a joke itself.


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

_Tom Hanson_

"C'mon, Doug, we're going to be late," I called through the bathroom door. "We have to be at Bruno's in twenty minutes and we're going to need all the time we can get because I can't walk in heels."

For the next day or so Doug and I would be staying at a local hotel while we busted Bruno at his bar (appropriately named _Bruno's_). He was a ladies man who often sweet talked women into getting what he wanted and that ranged from love to cars to money. The ladies flipped over backwards for him and we knew that by getting into this we were needed to keep our cover hidden. If this guy was as huge and muscular as folks made him out to be, that if he found out we were guys (let alone cops) we were screwed.

Needless to say we were trying our best to dress like women. Whenever a woman was needed in a case and Judy wasn't around, for some odd reason I would be the one to wear the dress. It got old. It was getting to the point where I could apply mascara without making any mistakes and that was saying a lot. I loved my work but sometimes it was a little less masculine than I would prefer.

I was dressed in a sleeveless red top, a poofy black jacket and a matching black skirt. My legs were shaved (degrading but necessary) and I was wearing a pair of high heels that would kill me by the end of the night. For my hair I wore a brown wig that ran down to my shoulders. I was ready to take on this Bruno and get it over with, but Doug wasn't. He was an entirely different story.

"I'm not doin' this." He muttered in an aggravated tone. "Can't you do this on your own? You're so good at this sorta thing already and-"

"Fuller wanted us both to do this." I pointed out as I shook the door handle. It was locked. Go figure. "Come on, Doug. I can't do this without you."

"I look goofy."

"I'm sure it doesn't look that bad…"

"I don't wanna go… at least not dressed like this."

"Doug, come on!" I sighed. "We're gonna be late – hey Doug. I'll tell you what. You do this with me and I'll make it worth your while tonight."

There was a silence, a brief pause as Doug thought it over. I smiled knowing the offer was too tempting for him to refuse.

"Worth my while how?"

"We can finish what we started earlier…" I offered.

"No interruptions?"

"No interruptions."

The doorknob slowly turned and out came Doug. He was dressed in a similar outfit as mine, but instead of a red top his was blue. He had on a blond wig and a shade of lipstick that was bold but sexy… if he really was a woman. But with his broad shoulders and manly figure it was almost noticeable. I couldn't help but to smile when I saw him. It was too funny seeing him in a dress.

"Hanson, shut up." Doug growled as he slipped his purse over his shoulder. That only made me chuckle.

"Aw, Dougie, you're adorable. I almost wanna kiss you." I reached out and placed my hand on his cheek. "But I don't wanna mess up your make up!"

"Hanson!" hissed Doug as he threw my arm off of his shoulder. "Let's just get this over with."

"Okay," I said as I made my way to the door. "Let's go."

We arrived at _Bruno's_ right on time, which was amazing considering how slow we walked in heels. Even though we were punctual our feet were still killing us. I couldn't imagine another few hours in heels and I had no idea how women would take wearing them on a daily basis!

The club was packed with the younger generation so Doug and I fit in perfectly. My code name was Tammy and his was Diane. We were sisters. Diane was a student at a local college and I was working to being a stripper (I really think Fuller put that in there to mess with me). Upon entering the club we immediately started searching for Bruno. Doug looked down at the photo we had from the file and nudged my shoulder.

"This guy looks like a heartbreaker." he joked before placing the photo back in the only pocket he had – his brassiere. "I'm gonna ask the bartender if he knows where Bruno is."

I followed Doug to the bar and while he talked to the bartender I took a seat at the end. Hearing Doug try to pass off his voice as a high-pitched female was hilarious and I had to look away as a tiny smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Oh, Tammy, let's not laugh at your sister so soon in the night – let's wait until you're at the hotel when he takes off his wig!

I felt a slight breeze as someone took a seat on the stool next to me. I kept my eyes in the direction they were staring, away from this person, because let's face it, I wasn't ready to pull out Tammy's voice. The last thing I wanted was to talk like a-

"Well hello there," said a deep male voice. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?"

Crap. Well. So much for not wanting to talk like a woman. I turned around to face this man only to see that it was _the_ man. When I first heard his voice I originally wanted to blow him off and tell him that I was waiting for my date. However seeing it was Bruno, I had to seem interested… even though I technically wasn't. So I brushed back my hair and gave him the most inviting smile I could conjure.

"Hey there." I said in my best "Tammy" voice. "My sister and I were told this place had the best burgers."

"Burgers?" He said with a laugh. He had shoulder length blond hair, twinkling blue eyes and a southern drawl the ladies would most likely flip for. "Darlin' I have to say, I love a lady who could down one of _our_ burgers, they're _huge_."

"Then I guess you're gonna fall for me," I said with a teasing smile. "Because I may be tiny but I have a stomach the size of Texas."

"Do you really?" he asked with another chuckle.

"Maybe not Texas, maybe just Houston."

"Jordan?" Bruno called to the bartender. "Get this fine lady a burger and a beer."

"Oh no, you don't have to do that."

"It's my pleasure," said Bruno. "I insist."

"Well then could you make it a light beer?" I smoothed out my skirt. "Girl's gotta keep her figure."

Bruno took a good look at me from head to toe. I couldn't help the nervousness. If he saw one flaw about my look – if there was tissue peaking out of my brassiere, if my hair peaked out from underneath the wig, even if he noticed how off my make up might have seemed… I would be a dead man. But after he was through looking, he reached out and raised my chin with his hand, smiling at me with nothing but charm. Then as the bartender placed my order on the counter, Bruno slid it in front of me.

"My name is Bruno." he said.

"I'm Tammy." I pointed over to Doug who was innocently watching from afar. "That's my sister, Diane."

Bruce looked over to Doug and waved although his face didn't express the interest he saw when looking at me. In fact he looked a little put off. Seeing this, Doug glared at me. Aw, poor guy. He went to all that work to make himself a woman and Bruno wasn't even interested! That was actually a good thing for him but bad for me. He was actually interested in me and I found that somewhat frightening.

"Hey there, Diane." Bruno said, not bothering to reach out for a handshake. "Mind if I steal your sister for a moment?"

"Not at all," Doug said with a wave. "Take her for as long as you need, I'll settle in here."

"But don't you wanna tag along?" I offered in a near pleading tone. "You know join in on the fun?" You know, especially since Fuller told us to stay together on this?

"No, you go ahead." Doug said with a demonic grin. That evil jerk was going to stick me with Bruno? All alone? How _wrong_.

"That's okay, sweetheart," Bruno whispered as he pushed back my hair. "You have me all to yourself. Tell me about yourself."

"I'm Diane… I'm uh…" This was awkward; he was actually touching me now. He took my hand in his and kissed my knuckles. …Double awkward. "I'm actually looking for work in exotic dancing." Bruno's eyes lit up with interest. Yeah I kind of expected that. I pushed my meal towards Diane. "You go ahead and eat it," I told her. "I wanna take Bruno on the dance floor."

"Now you're talkin'!" Bruno exclaimed as he pulled me out of my seat. "But I have a better idea, why don't we head back to the employee's lounge. It's quiet and we can play better music."

"The employee's lounge?" I asked in a fake tone of wonder.

"I'm Bruno." He said. "Of _Bruno's_."

"Oh!" I said with a laugh. "You're _Bruno_ Bruno?"

"That I am ma'am."

"Then lead the way!" I said. Bruno linked arms and started back towards the employee's lounge. I occasionally looked back at Doug who was laughing his behind off as if this was the funniest thing on earth. His partner picked up by an owner of the bar and possible fugitive. Yeah, Doug, real funny. But you know what? He wasn't going to get away with it. I found a pudgy elderly bald man with a few hair plugs in the back corner. He looked old enough to be my great grandfather. After telling Bruno I would be in the lounge in a few minutes I leaned over to the guy at the table.

"I was just at the bar," I told him. "And see that lady over there with the broad shoulders and the big smile? I overheard her telling the bartender she thinks you are _the_ hottest piece of meat she has ever seen."

The old man looked at me with a gigantic smile and got out of his chair. I watched as he started towards the bar and smiled. Hanson: 1 Penhall: 0.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

_Doug Penhall_

I laughed. I just had to laugh. It was so funny. Even though Fuller distinctly told us to stay together, Bruno was clearly not interested in me. When Tom introduced me, Bruno had this look of disgust on his face and even though the idea of wining and dining two women at once would appeal to most men, it obviously did not appeal to Bruno. He just wanted Tom, I mean _Tammy_. He wanted Tammy. I didn't like this dressing up like a woman gig, but I could suffer through it for an hour or two while Tom got the information. He was gonna kill me later, I knew that for sure.

An elderly man sat next to me and smiled. I smiled back. Just friendly right? Just two guys… well… technically two guys although he didn't really know it… sitting at a bar together. Completely natural, right?

"You must like your men as you like your wine," said the man. "Old and rich."

…What did he just say?

"I beg your pardon?" I asked. Then I looked up and watched Tom give a quick evil glance as he walked into the employee's lounge. That _jerk_! He totally set me up! I was about to protest when suddenly I felt the man's hand on my leg. My eyes widened a bit. "I actually don't drink wine."

"Neither do I," said the man as he rubbed my knee. "But you know what I could have a _tall_ glass of right now?"

"What's that?"

"_You_." Oh now this was just disgusting. I gingerly placed my hand on his to push it away, but he only put his other hand on top of mine. Raising my hand, he kissed it, his old-man slobber thickly coating the top of hand. Ick. Gross. Tom was going to get it for this!

"I um… I don't taste very good." I insisted, pulling my hand away.

"Oh I bet you do."

"I'm sour, not like sweet and sour chicken either." I said scooting my stool away. "Like those candies that make your face tuck inwards and your lips crinkle."

"Those are my favorite candies, actually." he said.

"Of course they are." I muttered angrily.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, I was just saying how nice it would be to sit at one of those tables over there," I gestured to the wall where a few tables were open. "They sure look cozy."

"Let's go then." he said reaching out for my hand. I pulled my hand back and motioned for the bathroom.

"I'm just going to powder my nose first," I said as I forced a sickening sweet smile. "Why don't you go ahead? I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Alright sugarplum," cooed the man. "But don't keep me waiting too long." I watched as he walked over to a table and hurried to the bathroom. This time around, for case purposes, I went into the ladies room. Luckily it was empty so I wouldn't have to face any true ladies. Needing a hiding spot, I went into one of the stalls and sat down on to top part of the commode. A few seconds later the door swung open and a figure opened. Then I heard laughter. Hideous laughter. Evil laughter. It wasn't Tom's voice, it was an actual female. She walked closer to the stall and swung the door open.

"Hoffs!" I hissed. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be working on the car!" Judy was standing right in front of me and she was laughing herself stupid. She wiped away a few tears that had fallen due to her guffaw and leaned against the doorframe of the stall.

"Are you kidding?" she said through her laughter. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Does Fuller know you're here?"

"Your lipstick is a little smudged; did you give that man some sugar?"

"JUDY!"

"Sorry!" she reached out and brushed away the smudged lipstick with her thumb. "Yeah Fuller knows I'm here. He wanted to make sure both of you were here and neither of you wimped out so he sent me here for a few minutes. Speaking of which, where's Hanson?"

"With Bruno in the employee's lounge."

"And why are you in here?"

"Bruno wasn't… he was a one-woman man apparently."

"Fuller said that man could take a handful of women at a time, Penhall." Judy's expression suddenly turned into one of concern. "Were you too afraid to put yourself out there? This is your first time being a woman." She wrinkled her nose. "For some reason that didn't sound right."

"I put myself out there!" I insisted. "He just… he wasn't interested okay?" I frowned slightly and looked at the floor. "He just wanted Hanson."

"Aw, Doug!" Judy put her hand on my shoulder. "That's okay. You can just stay here and wait for Hanson to come out. That way if his cover is blown you can keep guard, okay?"

"Yeah I guess…" I muttered. I looked up at her and a small smile stretched across my lips. "So Tom told me."

"Told you what?"

"What you were gonna tell me on the RV, the juicy piece of info?"

"And uh, what was that?" Judy asked with curious eyes. I figured Tom swore her to never tell a soul, so I had to spill everything out loud and really (aside from Fuller seeing it with his own eyes) Judy would be the first to know Tom and I were a couple.

"I kissed him." I told her. Her eyes sparkled and she smiled.

"Yeah? And what'd he do?"

"He kissed me back."

"Doug, that's… that's fantastic!"

"And then we kissed some more. Like heavy, you know? And Fuller caught us."

"That's why he seemed adamant about coming up here himself." Judy figured.

"Yeah… so everything's good now." I said with a smile. "We're happy. We just felt kinda bad about all of it happening while Ioki's out there with Calvin and Sandra."

"Hey," Judy leaned in and looked to me with comforting eyes. "Don't you talk like that, okay? We're doing our best to search for Ioki and he's going to be okay. He's going to be fine. If Calvin and Sandra care for their son and are so much of a family, they won't even touch Ioki."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

I nodded.

"So this guy out there," Judy said. "You like him?"

"Nah, not really. I mean he's rich and all but I love someone for their personality," I teased. "And that man was nothing but a kooky pervert."

"C'mon," said Judy as she tugged my arm. "I know this little corner of the bar where he won't find us. We'll get some fries or something, k?"

"Okay," I said. "That sounds good."


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

_Tom Hanson_

Bruno liked bargains. In order to get some of his food, you had to pay. In order to get some of his beer, you had to pay. His mind worked like this with everything, including getting information out of him. The more you gave him the more he gave you and what I wanted was asking a lot so I knew I would have to give a lot… which really almost frightened him. Let's face it, this guy had me all to himself in the employee's lounge (and he cleverly locked the door and placed the key in his side pocket). Things would get ugly if I didn't cooperate.

I tried getting him drunk but he wasn't drinking his beer fast enough. He was still working on his first bottle and I hardly touched mine. I didn't want to drink in fear of getting too buzzed to really know what was going on. I think Bruno had the same idea. So getting him drunk enough to spill the beans was out of the question. This guy had only one thing on his mind and that was something I physically couldn't give him. I was worried that if things got far enough that he would discover my true identity and all would be lost. Not to mention those huge arms of his, he could probably snap me in half if he wanted to.

Right then he had me in his arms, smelling my hair and moving his hand down the front of my shirt in search of my two fake bosoms. Every time he got close, I would hold onto his hands and squeeze them in an affectionate manner as if I was truly appreciating our time together (which I wasn't). He was trying to work his way lower and lower and I was trying to stall him more and more. Just as I worried about he became more aggressive and kissed me on the lips. I originally wanted to fight it, but I had to remember I was a woman who was truly interested in this man, so I didn't. And you know, for a southern pervert he kissed okay… but not as great as Doug.

"You got some sweet lips on you, baby," he whispered into my mouth. His breath smelled like rotten eggs. He could have really used a breath mint or two. But I had to fight the urge to push him away. Fight it, Tom, fight it. "Where'd you learn to kiss like that?"

"Mmm I don't know, just some old boyfriend of mine back in the day."

"Yeah?" Bruno asked. "What was his name?" I thought for a moment.

"Calvin." Oh, Tom, let's hope you know what you're doing. "Calvin Fitz… Fitzerd? I don't quite remember his-"

"Calvin Fitzgerald?" Bruno asked in a suddenly sour tone. "Baby of all names to bring up, that was about the worst you coulda given." Crap. Think, Tom, think. Think before he shoos you away.

"He was one heck of a kisser but those lips were about the only things that kept me coming back." I said with a false sour laugh. I watched Bruno's face for a reaction and he slowly smiled and started kissing at my neck again. I sighed of relief.

"What you sighin' for, sweetie?" he purred.

"It just feels… so nice. Your lips." I laughed nervously. "Real nice."

"Mmm, lots better than that Calvin bastard, huh?"

"Oh thousands of times better, no doubt about it."

"How long ago did you date him? You look like a young little thing to be dating men his age."

"Oh, it was a while back but uh…"

"Oh, wait a minute, you mean he was havin' an affair?" Bruno asked with a laugh. "Aw, honey, you're more devious than I thought."

"Well actually I-"

"I'm tempted to go to him right now and show you off. Get him into deep trouble with that wife of his."

"Hey now that isn't such a bad idea."

Bruno stared at me for a few moments and then shook his head. He pushed back some of my hair and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Nah, can't do that." He traced his finger down my shoulder. "I'll just let him know that I ran into you." No, no, no! So close to getting what we needed and yet so far!

"Now sweetie," I said as I cleared my throat, my tone changing completely. "You seem to know Calvin, wouldn't it be swell seeing him? Rubbing it in his face you're with me? And maybe even-"

"Screwing over his relationship?" Bruno finished. "That'd be swell – you know I used to date Sandra. But nah, I can't do that. I just can't."

"Please?" I begged with a pout of my lips. "It would mean so much to me…"

"I can't, why are you pushin' this so much?"

I was going to have to throw my neck out there and take a huge risk. This was going to take a little more than elbow grease. So I wrapped my arms around him and, with a little hesitation, kissed him on the lips. Gross, gross, gross. That breath of his was down right nasty but I had to do it. As Fuller said, this was one of the only ways to get him to talk. He was a strong and stubborn man, but if his heart started to flutter he was all yours. Not exactly the most trustworthy source.

"I just wanna see the look on his face when he sees me and when he sees you. All big and…" I kissed his lips again. _Gross_. "So strong and… it'd make me so excited. I get so…" Kissed his lips – GROSS – again. "So aroused when I'm excited and I'm bound to do anything."

Bruno closed his eyes, let out a soft sigh and rested his head against mine. Ugh. He liked that? I almost wanted to vomit. But I kept my cool.

"That sister of yours got a car?" he asked

"Of course she does." I replied.

"I'm gonna tell my assistant I'm taking the evening off, you go get the car started for me, alright?"

"You got it." I got up and started for the door.

"And baby?"

"Yeah?"

"If this goes as swell as I think it's going to, I'm taking you to dinner afterwards."

"Can't wait." Yep. Gonna vomit. I walked out of the room and searched for Doug. I saw him sitting at a table with Judy. Judy? When did she get here? Wasn't she working with the local police on the car? It didn't matter at this point. I needed to get Doug to bring the car around and head back into… Bruno… Oh god I was feeling sick to my stomach. In need of fresh air, I rushed to the door only to be stopped by Doug.

"Hey, did you get the information?" he asked in his usual voice, although keeping his volume low so others wouldn't hear.

"I'm gonna puke. His lips. On mine. His hands. On me. I'm gonna barf. I need air."

"Hey, hey." Doug said soothingly as he rubbed my shoulder. "Just calm down, okay? Did you get the information?"

"He's gonna show us where he is."

"He's gonna what?" Doug squeaked. "You're bringing him with us? We have to stay dressed up?"

"Yeah, it was the only way to get him to do it. He just… I just… Doug, I'm seriously going to pass out if I don't get fresh air."

"Okay, well Judy will head back and call Fuller. She'll keep tabs on us as we go. And then we'll ditch him as soon as we get there okay?"

"We'll ditch him?"

"We'll ditch him."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Doug raised his eyebrows and raised my chin to look him in the eyes. "You gonna be okay?"

"His breath was terrible. I just want this to be over." I gestured to the door. "I'm gonna get in the car." I pat his shoulder and then started for the door when suddenly he pulled my arm. I looked back.

"By the way?" Doug said. "That was so not cool."

"What wasn't cool?"

"That old guy with the hair plugs." Doug replied. "He was all over me and it was just nasty." I couldn't help the smile on my face.

"I know," I said with a wide grin. "Wasn't it great?"

Doug stared at me, his eyebrows narrowed.

"Hanson?"

"Penhall?"

"Get the car."

"Yes ma'am."

I watched Doug's face for a moment and he smiled faintly. I smiled back and went to get the car.


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

_Doug Penhall_

By the way Tom whined and moaned about Bruce I thought he was only exaggerating about how uncomfortable he was about the situation. After all the man was in a skirt, he had to be uncomfortable and he was bound to complain at one point or another. Still he had it worse then I did. I was only driving the car while Tom kept Bruno occupied in the back seat. Of course the only way Bruno could be kept occupied was with his lips. I had mixed emotions about all of this. I was somewhat jealous, after all they were kissing but on the other hand Tom hated it. I could see it in his eyes that he hated doing this. That's what made me smile… it was laughable, watching him fight with Bruno to keep his skirt on. Every now and again I'd jerk the car and blame it some imaginary squirrel, just to keep Bruno's hands off of Tom's tights. It may have been laughable, but we couldn't afford to have Bruno discover Tom was really a man.

They were huddled in the backseat of the car; Bruno having a great time and Tom was squealing and making himself out to be the fakest woman to have ever existed. Although I had to admit that he had a better female voice than me. Bruno told us to turn onto the main road and continue going down until he told us to turn left. He wouldn't tell us where we were going. It was like he knew we were fishing for information. Maybe we had come on too strong and he knew we were going to dump him off after we found out what we needed to know. …That made things a little more difficult, but I was the driver. Tom had to the hard work. I could tell he was getting agitated.

"Hey, hold on a minute," Bruno said, pulling his face from Tom's neck. "I think we're getting closer." He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper. Every now and again he'd refer to this sheet of paper. It had the location where Calvin and his wife were yet he wouldn't let Tom look. He kept it in his back pocket, right over his behind. After taking a gander over the paper, he shoved it in his pocket, not even bothering folding it before doing so. "Nah, we still got a few more miles to go before we turn."

"Then we're there?" Tom asked.

"Nah, baby," Bruno said, running his fingers through Tom's wig. "We got a good three hours before we get there." He buried his face in Tom's neck and Tom gave me a look that said 'HELP ME'. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the road, frustrated at how long this ride was going to be. We were never going to make it. I couldn't stand the guy and I wasn't even in the backseat with him! I could only imagine the frustration Tom felt.

We pulled in to a gas station so Tom could use the ladies room, which made me laugh with having him say he needed to use the '_ladies_' room (this project had its perks), which left me and Bruno in the van waiting. I filled up the car with gas and as I waited, I felt a pair of eyes on me. I slowly turned around and saw Bruno watching me with wide eyes and a smile on his face. He stepped out of the car and walked over to me. Oh boy.

"We got off on the wrong foot," he told me as he ran his finger up my arm. Oh come _on_. I thought he wasn't interested in me? What was with the sudden come on? And here I thought I got lucky with this project… "And I just wanted to take a moment to reintroduce myself."

"I believe I already know who you are," I told him, keeping my eye on the gas pump. "And I believe my sister has already claimed you."

"Didn't your parents teach you about sharing?" Bruno asked, leaning over to kiss my neck. _Ew_. Where was Tom when you needed him? "You seem like one of them big broads with the huge shoulders who can really show a man what she's capable of. You know… if the man is willing to allow it."

"…Okay." I said with shifty eyes.

"And baby? I'll allow it."

"Allow what?"

"You ever do it in a convenient store?"

OKAY. This was getting a little too freaky for me. I shoved the gas pump in its holder and slammed the gas cap back on the car. I started for the driver's side when he suddenly pulled my arm.

"What you runnin' from anyway?" Bruno asked as he squeezed my arm, and not in a loving way. I could feel his nails digging into my skin. "You think I'd come all the way out here just to flirt with your sister? She don't want nothin' to do with me. She keeps avoiding the dirty stuff; she just wants to show me off to that Calvin bastard. But you? You're gonna let me get what I want."

"And if I don't?" I challenged.

"Baby, you don't wanna go there." He slammed me against the side of the car and tore at my shirt.

"You'll wanna stop that." I warned him in a light tone.

He started going for my skirt, his eyes full of determination.

"Again, I would really appreciate it if you would stop. Or else I'll have to-"

"What?" Bruno snorted. "You gonna run off like your slut of a sister?"

I dug my fingernails into his hair and then slammed his head into the side of the car. Then I kneed up below the belt (right where it hurt a man the most) and shoved him to the ground. During that brief moment where he huddled over in pain, I reached into his back pocket and retrieved the sheet of paper.

"TOMMY!" I shouted as I ran into the car. "TOMMY, LET'S GO RIGHT NOW."

"You're a guy?" squeaked Bruno, his face suddenly becoming very angry.

"TOMMY." I called as I started the car. I drove around to the side of the building where the bathroom was and beeped my horn. Tom ran out of the building and climbed into the passenger seat. Then we were off, speeding away from the gas station.

"Hold on, Doug." Tom remarked as he pulled off one of his heels. "Slow down."

"Tom, what are you doing? I can't slow down, he's gonna come after us as soon as he gets in a car."

Tom rolled down his window and after a brief moment of concentration he chucked the shoe in Bruno's direction.

_'Son of a bitch!'_ I heard Bruno exclaim. Tom leaned back in his seat, rolling up the window and then let out a sigh of relief.

"How'd you get the paper?" Tom asked me.

"You take too long to do things," I teased. "I just reached in his pocket and got it."

"Judging by the huge bruise on his forehead I'd say you did more than just reach in…"

"It took a little elbow grease." I wiggled in my seat, uncomfortable in my clothes. "The good news is-"

"That we know where Calvin is?"

"That too," I shrugged. "I was gonna say the good news is I can finally get out of this bra."

"Pull in to the nearest rest area." Tom said. "I really need to get this make up off. Hey Doug?"

"Mhm?"

"What made you hit him?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well you had so much patience towards Bruno and the entire dress-like-a-woman thing… then you just hit him."

"He uh, he grabbed at my skirt." I explained.

"Ah, I see." Tom nodded.

"And he… called you a slut."

"Aw, Dougie!" teased Tom with a playful coo. "You're my hero."

"Well I warned him… and he didn't listen. Was he a good kisser?"

"His breath smelled like fish that had been left out for weeks."

"That bad huh?"

"Terrible. I need to brush my teeth. And shower. And maybe cleanse myself spiritually too after that torture."


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER NINTEEN**

_Tom Hanson_

Doug and I went back to a local rest stop where we got ourselves together. This entailed showering, getting dressed in masculine clothing and no longer being women. It was a nice feeling walking through the room without make up, without the wig and without the skirt. The skirt didn't bother me, but the leggings did. I still don't see how women wear them. The important thing was I didn't have to wear them anymore.

The paper had an address scribbled on it. A street that no one had heard of except the creepy janitor named Frizz who was cleaning the bathroom stalls. He gave us directions as we wiped the lipstick from our faces and I'm sure he thought we were as weird as we thought he was. I was making finishing touches to my hair just as Frizz finished explaining the directions. Doug was ready to go and leaning against the wall.

"Then after you take a left on Montgomery you'll hit nothin' but road," explained Frizz. "And you'll see a bushel of trees and in that bushel is an abandoned warehouse. That's where that is." He looked at me suspiciously. "Why you gotta know about that place anyway?"

"It's a long story," I started. "We just-"

"Must be a long story 'cause you came in here lookin' like women and you leave lookin' like men." Frizz picked up his mop and started moving it across the floor. Doug rolled his eyes with a faint smile and pushed the door opened.

"Yeah. Well." I moved towards the door. "It was nice meeting you. Maybe we'll see you again. We'll do lunch. Have makeovers. I don't know."

"C'mon, Tommy," Doug said as he tugged at my arm. "We have to get to the warehouse."

And without another word, Doug dragged me by the arm to the car. We slipped in and drove off. We had some serious mileage to cover but would reach Montgomery by nightfall if we didn't stop. For a few seconds the car was quiet. The radio was off, the motor was purring softly and no words were spoken. Then Doug started to laugh.

"What's your problem?" I asked as a smile tugged at my lips.

"You!" chuckled Doug. "All dressed up. In a wig. With heels. And leggings."

"Yeah? So?" I playfully nudged his elbow. "It wasn't like I was the only one."

"Oh, now I know I was also taking part in the dress-up party, but," He glanced at me. "That's the third time I've seen you in a dress since we've worked together. That ain't normal."

"It's not like I asked to be the substitute when Judy's not around."

"Yeah but you're the girly man of us three – between you, me and Ioki, you're the only one that could pass off as a woman. Heck, that's why Bruno wanted you so bad. He wanted you to be his schnookums."

"I am not his schnookums," I laughed. "I'm nobody's schnookums."

"Are you my schnookums?" Doug asked with a playful pout.

"I hate that word. Never call me that again."

"What about pookie? Can I call you my pookie?"

"Doug," I laughed with a shake of my head. "No. Don't call me your pookie."

"Buttercup?"

"No."

"Kitten?"

"Nope."

"Tiger?"

"…Okay." I said with a nod. "That sounds manly."

"You're Tommy the Tiger and you're grrrrrrrreat!"

"Doug!" I laughed. "You're insane."

"So what of yours am I?"

"You're my schnookums."

"That's just not fair, Tom." Doug teased.

"Pookie?"

"No."

"Kitten?"

"No."

"Lion?"

"Okay." Doug nodded. "I'm your lion."

"Okay, so it's settled-"

"Tom, wait." Doug pulled the car over. "Listen."

"What's wrong?" I asked him. "What do you-"

"Shh, Tom!" He placed his hand over my mouth. "Listen."

We sat. We listened. At first I didn't hear it, but after a few seconds of intense concentration I did. Ticking. Tick-tick-tick-tick… a steady beat that was coming from our car. Our car never ticked before. It was muffled, like it was coming from the outside. I rolled down the window. The ticking sounded faster. Doug unbuckled his seatbelt and went to unbuckle mine.

"It's a bomb." He whispered as he pushed my door open. He shoved me out of the car and then climb out of his side. We ran off the road and moments later an explosion erupted. The impact from the explosion pushed us to the ground, Doug on top of me. Flames danced in the air, tongues of fire hissing and crackling as it spread across the land. I could feel heat against the back of my leg.

"Doug, come on, let's move farther away. We'll get burned if we stay here any-"

My words stopped as my eyes set on Doug. His eyes were shut, his body was limp and there was a burn on the back of his neck. His clothes were damaged – burned and torn from the blow. "Doug!" I cried. I slung his arm around my neck and walked him further down the road where there, fortunately, was a payphone. I hurried inside, leaning myself and Doug against the glass wall, and dialed 911. "Hang in there, Doug," I whispered. "Just hang in there, okay?"


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

_Doug Penhall_

I woke up in his arms. His fingers were laced with mine and he was squeezing my hand tightly. I felt the wetness of his tears fall against my neck. He was crying, whispering in my ear for me to hang on. Our bodies were rocking back and forth, though I doubted he was doing so out of comfort; he was doing it to stable his nerves. His breaths were quick and shaky. His body was shaking.

"'Ey, Tiger, just chill," I said dryly as I squeezed his hand. "It's gonna be alright. I'm fine."

"Doug!" squeaked Tom as he pressed a kiss to my cheek. "I called 911. They'll be here any second, just hang on okay?"

"Tom…"

"Just don't let it take you okay?" he whimpered. "Just hang on."

"Tom…"

"I don't wanna see you go… I love you too much." Tom snapped. He wasn't himself.

"Pookie… Wait, did you just say you loved me?"

"Did you just call me 'Pookie'?"

"I'm going to be fine." I assured him while patting his hand. "Just a few burns. Maybe a few scrapes, but I'm gonna be fine." The burns hurt like hell but I wasn't going to dish out the details to Tom. He seemed strung enough already. There was something in his eyes, like he was a man on a mission, like he had something up his sleeve. Knowing Tom, he did have something up his sleeve. And knowing Tom, it was going to be something Fuller was usually against. "You're not gonna do it."

"Do what?"

"Whatever it is you're thinking of doing."

"I'm not thinking of doing anything."

"Tom… I'm serious."

"I'm gonna stay here until I hear the-" I could hear sirens in the distance. "Sirens." He slipped out from under me and gently leaned me against the tree. "I'll call you later."

"Tom, come on! You're really not in the right frame of mind. Stay here." He stared at me with a determined look on his face. "I'll come after you."

"They tried to blow up our car, Doug. Calvin tried to blow up our car!"

"You don't know that! It could have been someone else." I protested. "Just settle down a bit, okay?"

"Settle down? Settle down! Doug, we could have died!" He gestured to the car, which was still flaming. "That could have been us! And if Calvin did it, what if he put something like that on Ioki? What if Ioki is in pieces now and-"

"C'mon, Tommy." I said in a much more calm tone. I reached out and took his hand. "Just stay until Fuller gets here. Just calm down." I rubbed my thumb over his knuckles. "Please? Stay with me? Lion needs his Tiger."

"Don't do that." Tom said as he flopped down beside me.

"Do what?"

"Try to be all cute to make me feel better."

"But it's working isn't it?"

"Yeah."

I slipped my arm around him and pulled him close.

"We can watch our car turn to ash as we wait. And then we'll go to the hospital, get checked out, and then we'll be on our way again."

We weren't burned that badly. Tom had a burn on his arm but otherwise was fine. I, on the other hand, had a burn on my back and a bad scrape along my side. I caught most of the flames, inhaled some smoke, and they wanted to keep me overnight just to run some tests and treat me. So there I was in the hospital, laying in a bed and dosed up on some medication that whacked me out. I was drowsy and every other second my eyes would shut and I would doze off. My mind was tired and I really couldn't get a handle on what was going on. It was bizarre because I wasn't that bad off and I didn't think they would give me such a heavy dose of medication.

Fuller was talking to the doctor in the hallway while Tom stayed with me in the room.

"Should the medication be making him so tired?" asked Tom. Who was he talking to? I looked to my left and saw a nurse. Oh hey. I didn't know she was there.

"It's nothing harmful," she said as she set the needle down. "Just a basic sedative to calm his nerves."

Nerves? I wasn't nervous. Tom, however, was so nervous he was almost to the point of shaking. He literally snapped. Temporary insanity? Who knew. Something was up. I might have been loopy but I could still see Tom clearly and he still had that look in his eye. He was still that man on a mission.

"It's not gonna harm him is it?" Tom asked.

"No, not at all! Just gonna make him a bit drowsy. Looks like he's settled down."

"Yeah, he was really upset earlier," Tom said. I was not! "I had trouble calming him down…" Um, what? I calmed _him _down. What was he up to?

"Nurse Sandy?" called the doctor from the hallway. "Can we see you for a moment?"

"Sure, doctor." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Mr. Hanson. He'll be sleeping like a baby within minutes." I glared right at him as the nurse made her exit. And after the door was shut, I raised hell.

"What did you do to me?" I hissed. "You know I'm not nervous about anything. You were the one who-"

"I'm gonna get him." Tom said. "I have to fix this Doug. He hurt you!"

"I'm not that bad off…" I could feel myself drifting out again. Tom pulled the covers up to my chest. He was probably the reason I was staying here overnight. He knew I didn't want him going out there and he knew I would tell Fuller everything which would spoil his plans. He was losing it. He knew any minute I'd be snoring away and unable to stop him. Unable to tell them where Calvin was and where Tom was headed.

"Just get some sleep okay?" He said as he smoothed back my hair. "By the time you wake up all of this will be taken care of. I promise."

"I can't believe you." I hissed as my eyes shut. It was getting more and more difficult to keep them open. "You're losing it, Tom. You need to be here, not me."

The more I tried to fight sleep the more it came to me. As seconds passed, the mattress felt softer and my head seeped deeper and more comfortably into the pillow. Everything was fading to black and I became very relaxed. I was so relaxed that I hardly noticed Tom even being there. I felt Tom kiss my forehead and that was it. I was down for the count. But let me tell you – when I woke up I was going to raise hell… and maybe when Tom slept, color his face with assorted colors of lipstick. But mainly raise hell. …Although the lipstick sounded more enjoyable… on my part at least.


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

_Tom Hanson_

Oh he was going to be pissed off when he woke up. Cops weren't supposed to play dirty, friends weren't supposed to play dirty and lovers weren't supposed to play dirty… but I did. I usually didn't but this time I had a good reason – I had to end all of it. I had to find Calvin, arrest him and his wife and end all of it.

I waited a few moments after the sedative took Doug under, just to make sure he was asleep. I waited for a snore, then another one, and then I walked out of the room. I told Fuller I was going to the 7-11 to get a slurpee and wait for Judy to show up (she was due to arrive within the hour). The sedative would knock Doug out for a while and it gave me a nice head start.

I wanted to get to the warehouse as soon as I could so I could save Ioki. Then, once Ioki was safe, I could relax a little. I couldn't relax until he was safe. It was impossible for me to even think about relaxing or taking it easy. Doug and Fuller wanted to take this one step at a time; they kept telling me Ioki would be fine. After all, the fugitives at hand did not kill any of us so far, just the person early on by our RV. I knew they were probably right, that Calvin wouldn't let Ioki die, but I couldn't handle the fact that he _could_ die.

_I_ should have been the one taken hostage. It was _my_ ex-girlfriend they wanted to pay back. It was_ me_ they wanted to take captive and it was _Ioki_ that was in my place. It was unfair. All of this had escaladed into a huge fiasco and I felt that it was my fault. If I did not date Mandy, Calvin would not have come after me; he would not have kidnapped my friends, he would not have taken Ioki, and Doug would not be in the hospital. All me. All because of me. And I wanted to see there was an end to it and I was going to go to any lengths to see all of this ended.

I took a taxi to Montgomery and then walked the rest of the way to the warehouse. There actually was a warehouse; Frizz was not lying about that. It was small for a warehouse and looked like no one had been in it for centuries. Vines and mold covered the outside walls and bordered the windows. Spider webs hung everywhere it was possible for webs to hang. It looked old, abandoned, and the perfect place to keep someone captive. However when I walked inside I noted something very odd: no one was in there.

A few chairs were in the room along with empty cartons from a Chinese restaurant. Bottles of water, half empty, were sitting in the corner and one of the windows was open. It looked like if they had been in the warehouse but left. And the departure seemed sudden… spur of the moment. When someone is on the run it is more than likely they will continue running, but before running they make sure no tracks are trailing behind them. The cartons and water were tracks. It was clear they were not the best fugitives, they were new at crime, but even new fugitives would at least clean up. …Unless they were in a hurry. Someone had to have notified them that we were coming. And there was only person I could think of.

"Hey there, sugar."

Bruno.

I pulled out my gun and before I had a chance to turn around and face him, he came up from behind and shoved my body against the wall. He was a big guy with big muscles, so the collision into the wall obviously hurt. It knocked the wind out of me and I was left wide-eyed for a second. While it was only a second, it was long enough for Bruno to snatch the gun from my hand. He turned me around and clocked me with his fist. Then he pinned me to the wall with one arm and held the gun to my head with the other.

"You listen here, _sweetheart_," he flamed. "No one ever, EVER crosses Bruno, you got that?"

"Where are they?" I asked. "Where's Calvin?"

"Shut up!" Bruno yelled. "You just shut up, I'm doin' the talkin'. Whatcha think I am? Some kinda idiot? You ain't even a woman, you're a cop, ain't ya? Undercover. Tryin' to bust Cal for what he's done. For what I've done. Let me tell you something, kid, I knew damn well you'd be coming up here for something and I'm seeing to it you get something alright." He pressed the gun harder against my head and I placed my hand around his wrist. "Get your hand off me."

"Tell me where they are."

"It ain't no use now, son, they're long gone. They might have grits for brains but they knew to run when I told 'em to. Now I'm gonna make sure you don't talk."

"Let me go." I ordered as I tried pushing his arm away. He pointed the gun in the air and pulled it. A shot ran and pieces of the ceiling fell to the ground.

"Don't play with me, boy, you think _I'm_ playin'? You think I won't just shoot you in the damn head and be done with you? Cause I will. Hell, I thought I already took care of you and your buddy in that car of yours."

The car. The explosion. It was Bruno! We could have died because of Bruno. And for a second I stared at him, motionless and contemplating my next move. "You got all quiet on me, sonny. Tell me, did I strike a chord? How's that pal of yours? I hope he felt hell when those flames hit him."

That was _it_. I was done with this guy. I grabbed onto the gun and snatched it from his hand. Then I pressed it in his chest.

"You listen to me!" I heated. "Back against the wall." Bruno stared at me with a silly smirk on his face. I held the gun to his forehead. "BACK AGAINST THE WALL!" His smirk faded and his eyes grew wide. Doug was right, I lost it. There was too much on my mind and I was letting it all go to my head. I pushed Bruno against the wall. "You put us through hell the last few weeks. It's _all_ been because of you hasn't it? You supplied Calvin with the money, the supplies, and everything they needed because of some sick and twisted reasoning going on in that sick and twisted head of yours. And you know what, Bruno? I'M SICK OF IT. I'm sick of having to chase you down, chasing your friends down, all to get my friend back and you're going to TAKE ME THERE. You got it? YOU GOT IT? Or I will be the one to shoot you in the head. YOUR GODDAMN HEAD."

"What makes you think I'll-"

"TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE!"

Bruno jerked, startled, and placed his hands on my shoulders. He pushed me back and held onto my hand that was holding the gun.

"Son, you better just calm yourself down."

"Tell me where they are."

"I'll tell you, alright? Just hang tight. Let me something from the other room and we'll be on our way."

"I don't believe you." I said as I watched him walk into the other room. "I don't believe you at all." I cocked the trigger and aimed it at him. "You take another step and I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna shoot."

Without another moment of hesitation, Bruno pushed me against the wall and pinned my arm back. Then he took the gun from my hand and while holding onto the barrel, slammed it over my head.

"Just gotta calm down, son," he said as he watched me fall to the ground. The room was starting to get dark. He sat on top of me and started pulling something from his backpack. "You just gotta calm down." And then there was darkness.

My hands were tied behind my back and my feet were tied together. There was darkness. My eyes were open but I couldn't see. I tried sitting up only for my head to hit a ceiling. Movement. There was movement. I was in the trunk of a car.

"Hey!" I screamed. "Hey, let me out of here!"

"Mornin', son!" called Bruno from the other side. "You're in for a real treat. Not only do you get an escort to where you wanna go but…" I heard the sound of a door opening. "But you get to go for a nice swim too! See you on the other side, sucker!" I felt the car hit nothing but air and after a brief moment of flight it crashed into a body of water. I heard the splashing of the waves. I couldn't move my hands so I started kicking the roof of the trunk with my feet. I didn't know how much time I had, but I knew it wasn't plenty. I had to get out and I had to get out _fast_.


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

_Doug Penhall_

The moon was out by the time I awoke. I felt a little groggy but it wasn't anything I couldn't shake off. I felt like I woke up from a ten-year coma. Slightly groggy but freakin' glad to be awake. I stifled a yawn and turned my head away from the window. Fuller was sitting in the armchair flipping through a magazine. Feeling my eyes on him, he eventually peaked over the page and smiled at me.

"You sleep like the dead, you know that, Penhall?" he teased.

"How long have I been sleeping?" I asked him.

"Almost four hours." Fuller set the magazine down on the dresser. "The doctor says you're good to go. Once you're fully awake we can take you to headquarters."

"Did Judy go after Tom?"

"Yeah, she should give me a call in a few minutes." He looked down at his watch and then picked up the magazine again.

"Tom's in trouble, sir." I told him. "He went after Ioki. He shouldn't be out there alone…"

"How do you know?"

"Because he's just… determined to go out there. He thinks this is his entire fault." I pushed myself up and held onto the mattress. Still a bit woozy from the meds but it would wear off soon. "We gotta go after him."

"Do you know where he went?"

"Yeah, we just gotta-" My words were interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. Fuller picked up the phone.

"Fuller here. Hey, Hoffs, what'd you find?" It was Judy on the phone. "Are you sure it was him? Where do they have him? Alright, I'll be right there." He hung up the phone and looked at me with a sad expression.

"What happened?" I asked. "Is Tom okay?"

"Bruno's dead." Fuller sighed. "They found him in a car in the bottom of a lake nearby. He drowned himself. He obviously knew something about Calvin that he didn't want us to know."

"And Hanson?"

"He was found in the trunk." Fuller said sadly. "He's here, in the hospital. Room 307. He barely made it."

"I'll stay here with him." I assured Fuller. That man needed a good talking-to.

"I'm going to headquarters and seeing what they found on the car. I'll give you a call later tonight."

"Yes sir."

He gathered his stuff and headed out. I waited until I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. Then I reached down, gathered my things and headed down to Tom's room. I imagined him laying in a bed, hooked up to an oxygen tank, and fighting for his life. The poor guy was stuffed in a trunk for hours. He almost died …again. I just wanted to make sure he was okay, or that he was going to be okay.

He was okay alright. He was up and about and walking over to the window. He was moving slowly, obviously dragging a bit after what had happened.

"Hey, Tiger." I said. He jumped, startled by the sudden voice, and snapped around. He fell back into the wall and stared at me with teary eyes.

"I have to get back to him, Doug. I just have to," he whimpered. "He knows where Ioki is."

"Who does, Tom?" I walked over to him and placed my hands on his shoulders.

"Bruno."

"Tom," I led him over to the bed. "Bruno drowned in the lake. You're lucky to be alive. You look like hell, let's get you in bed. Fuller will find Ioki."

"Fuller doesn't know where they are!" Tom insisted as he pulled away. "I'm gonna find him, Doug, I just have to. This is all my fault." He went over to the window and pulled it open.

"You're not climbing out that window," I told him as I pulled at his arm. "We are way too high to be climbing."

"I'm gonna find him." Tom repeated while he pushed my arm. "I'm gonna find him and no one can stop me."

We weren't getting anywhere. I leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

"Tommy, please. Just try and rest okay? And I promise that if Fuller doesn't find Ioki by the time you wake up that we'll go find him. Together. Okay?"

"You promise?" he squeaked. I took his hand and led him over to the bed.

"I promise."

"Stay with me?" he asked as he lay down. I sat down on the bed and he slid towards me, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Of course." I said as I rubbed his arm. "Just promise me you won't take off, okay? No more funny stuff."

"No more funny stuff. I promise. G'night, schnookums."

I laughed.

"Good night, Pookie."


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

_Tom Hanson_

_There was a loud splash. We were falling. The car was falling. The car was __**sinking**__. The waves rippled against the car, bubbling and rubbing the sides. No matter what I did, no matter how many times I kicked the top of the trunk it wouldn't budge. The heavy pressure from the water was too strong. Every time I kicked I would take in a sharp breath, and there wasn't much air to breathe in. There wasn't much time left…_

Every time I closed my eyes I dreamt about what happened in the trunk of that car. Every time I fell asleep I'd dream about it. Every time I had a spare moment to think I'd think about it. It was difficult to think about anything else. Bruno was dead and he was the only one who knew where Calvin was keeping Ioki. I wasn't able to get it out of Bruno, even after some tough persuasion (and a little craziness). I couldn't believe I threatened to shoot him. I would not have, I could never do that to someone. I'd lose my badge if I ever contemplated doing it. But I couldn't believe I even threatened to do it. It wasn't like me.

I woke up early the next morning, minutes before five o' clock. Doug was asleep, his head rested against the back wall. He looked adorable. I heard the sound of shuffling and looked to see Fuller coming through the doorway. He was holding a cup of coffee and looked like he needed it – the man looked worn out.

"Hey cap'n." I said in a croaky voice. He looked at me, bags under his eyes, and sat down in the chair next to the bed. "You pull an all-nighter?"

"Somewhat," he said with a sigh. "I looked until 2 in the mornin', let Judy search a bit, and attempted to get some sleep. Couldn't."

"Didn't find Ioki?" I asked him.

"Searched all over the place."

"We should go find him."

"We're not doing anything – you and Doug are going to see Mandy today."

"Mandy?" I asked. "I really don't want to talk to her again, she's a bit of a looney."

"Sane or not you're going to talk to her. They'll probably call her wanting the ransom money. We can go from there."

"And who will look for Ioki?"

"Judy'll look for another few hours, then we'll try later."

"Later?" I hissed. "We don't have time to try _later_. We don't have much time at all-"

"Hanson, we're trying everything we can to-"

"Well we aren't trying hard enough!"

"Hanson!" Fuller hissed. Doug flinched a little in his sleep. "We have been at this for days. We are doing everything physically possible to-"

"It's my fault." I stated with a scowl. "It's my fault he's even involved in this. They wanted me. They took Ioki. But captain, they wanted _me_. They should have gotten to me, tried to kill me, not Ioki."

"They have tried to kill you," Fuller explained in a soothing tone. "And it's not your fault. We'll get him back, okay? You just have to trust me on this."

There was a brief silence. Fuller took a sip of his coffee and set his cup on the nightstand between us.

"So what are we gonna do with Mandy?" I asked.

"You and Penhall are going to stay with her. They'll call. One of you will stay with Mandy and one of you will come with me to find Ioki."

"I wanna go with you." I said. "To find Ioki. It's my responsibility."

"This isn't your fault, Hanson."

"I wanna go with you."

"Okay." Fuller nodded. "Get some sleep, you're gonna need it."

"I'm not tired."

"Bull." Croaked a voice. It was Doug. His eyes were cracked open and he was staring down at me with a sleepy grin. "You were snoring your head off last night."

"I feel fine." I insisted. "When can we go?"

"As soon as you're cleared for discharge." Fuller stated.

"You mean I'm not already?"

"You're not mentally prepared. Physically, how do you feel?"

"Physically I feel fine." I insisted. "What do you mean by telling me I'm not mentally prepared?"

"You nearly drowned, Hanson. You were tied up in the trunk of a car. No man is 'fine' after that." Fuller had that look in his eye, like he changed his mind.

"I _am_ fine."

"You'll stay with Mandy. I don't want you near someone with a gun – I don't want you doing anything drastic."

"You said I could go with you!" I squeaked. "I'm going!"

"You tried escaping through the window last night!" Fuller said. Yep. He changed his mind. He nodded towards Doug. "You don't think Penhall kept that on the down low? Do you know what floor we're on? You could have killed yourself!"

"I'm going!"

"Hanson!" Fuller said through his teeth. He slammed his fist on the nightstand. "You are not to leave this hospital, you got it? Judy will come for you today after breakfast and you will both go see Mandy. "

"Captain…"

"Don't argue with me." Fuller ordered. "That's an order."

"Please? I want to go see Ioki. You don't understand." I whimpered. Doug rubbed my arm.

"C'mon, Tom, just chill," he said. "It's gonna be okay. We'll phone you the second we get Ioki, okay?"

"You don't understand," I insisted. "I was put in a car, in a trunk, I almost died. You almost died. I put my friends in danger. I just can't sit here! I have to take care of this."

"Just settle down, Hanson." Fuller said as he placed his hand on my arm. I pulled it away.

"I will not settle down."

"I'll make a deal with you, Hanson: we go find Ioki, you stay here. We get our jobs done and you don't get suspended for going against orders, is that clear?"

Well since you put it that way…

"Yeah," I whispered. "Crystal."

"Come on, Penhall." Fuller stood up. "I need to talk to you in private."

Uh-oh. This couldn't be good…


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

_Doug Penhall_

"What's wrong?" was the first thing that popped out of my mouth as soon as we were in the hallway. Tom was watching through the hospital room window, unable to hear but dying to. He was watching us curiously with a bewildered expression on his face. We locked eyes for a moment until Fuller's deep voice pulled me out of my daze.

"I don't know, you tell me," Fuller stated. After the harsh lecture to Tom I was expecting a lecture myself. I was expecting Evil Fuller, the one with the vein popping out of his forehead and the angry eyes that glowed a shade of red. With fire for breath. And lack of hygiene. Okay so maybe not the lack of hygiene. Just the fire for breath. Lucky for me (and Tom) he wasn't Evil Fuller. He spoke in a genuinely concerned tone of voice with a worried facial expression. It was almost touching to see him so troubled for Tom. "What's gotten into him?"

"He hasn't been himself," I explained with a quick glance inside the room. Tom was anxiously flipping through a magazine. He was nervous about the outcome of the conversation; I could tell because he wasn't even reading the magazine, he was just flipping rapidly through the pages. "Ever since he found out Mandy was the person who was affiliated with the ransom he lost it. I'm worried about him."

"He'll settle down after this is all taken care of." Fuller insisted. Fuller walked towards the elevator and stopped at the door. "You comin'?"

"Where we goin'?"

"To find Ioki – were you not listening?"

"I thought by wanting to talk in private…" I looked back towards the room and inside the door. Tom was flipping through the channels on the television, bored out of his skull. Aw. Poor guy. "He looks bored."

"Judy will be here soon. Let's go." He hit the button on the elevator and waited patiently for the doors to open. "Penhall, I want you to be honest with me about something."

"Yes sir."

"He tried escaping last night, right?"

"Right."

"Has he done anything else drastic since this has happened?" Fuller asked. When he asks a person questions like this he stares people down. He sends bullets in their faces with his eyes. It's hard to lie to a face like this, but I knew I couldn't tell him what happened. After all Tom did kinda drug me… but I was trusting he wouldn't do it again. Who knew. But I couldn't tell Fuller – Tom would possibly lose his job over it.

"Nah. Just tried to escape last night."

"You sure?" Fuller asked. I hated when he asked me that. It was like he _knew_ I was hiding something. He was good at pinpointing the lies – or as I like to call them – little, tiny, tiny, _tiny_ fibs. This time I didn't break down. I couldn't. So I stood my ground.

"Absolutely."

"Judy will keep an eye on him. Hopefully as this case is solved he'll get better."

"Better? Sir?"

"He's not in a healthy state, Penhall," Fuller said. "You know that better than I do. We need to make sure he's well or…"

"Or?"

"Or we'll have to put him on leave until he seeks the help he needs."

My heart sank into my stomach. I should have told Fuller about what happened, that was what my conscience wanted me to do, but I couldn't. Either way Hanson would probably end up on leave so what was I supposed to do? All I could have done at that point was hope that everything would have turned out fine and that Tom would get himself together.

The elevator door opened and we walked inside. Fuller hit the button for the lobby and watched me as I watched the doors close and Tom's face disappear. He placed his hand on my shoulder.

"He'll be okay," Fuller said. "He always bounces back."

"I know, I just hate leaving him there. He really wanted to come, Captain."

"He can't come," Fuller stated. "He's not in the right frame of mind."

"I'll watch him."

"Penhall…"

"C'mon, Captain! Just think about it – you and I will be with him… Judy could go find Mandy and talk to her. Stay with her…"

"It's already done." Fuller said as the elevator landed with the sound of its bell. "He's staying here with Judy. We'll check on him later and depending on Ioki's condition, we'll bring him in to see Hanson too."

"You don't think Ioki's hurt?"

"They need him for ransom money and they're horrible fugitives. They probably haven't even touched him."

"Well we're gonna get him back this time." I said with a nod. "I'm going to make sure of it."


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE**

_Tom Hanson_

Right after Doug and Fuller left things got quiet. My job was depending on how I reacted to the situation. On one hand I could risk everything for the sake of Ioki, but there was one thing keeping me from doing that – I had no idea where Ioki was. Suppose I did leave the hospital, rent a car and head off to find Ioki. What if I didn't find him? What if my search led me straight into the arms of a very angry Fuller? I would be out of a case, out of a job and that's just the beginning of it. So I sat in that bed and watched television.

Of course nothing was on. Nothing interesting airs when a person's in the hospital. It's all the same – sports, game shows and old romantic movies. I would have done anything for Doug's entertainment. He does a mean Marlon Brando. And it wasn't only the boring television that made the hospital visit dull, but also the smell. You ever smell a hospital? Well, not the hospital itself but its insides… it smells so clean and … medical. The scent drives me crazy and makes me antsy.

Judy had stopped by shortly after Doug and Fuller were out of the building. She offered to listen to me vent about how unfair it was for me to stay, but I didn't want to vent. I said my piece to Fuller and venting would have gotten me nowhere. It was best to push past what happened and make the most of it. They'd find Ioki and he would be fine – or at least that was what I kept telling myself. Judy got us some breakfast, just a few muffins and two cups of coffee. It was a lot better than the stuff the hospital tried feeding me and it was the perfect way to make everything all the better.

"You'd think some celebrity was here with all the security outside." Judy pointed out. She was standing at the window, her fingers peeling back the curtain, while she sipped on her coffee.

"They're all going to search for Ioki," I pointed out. "There's nothing on television." I tossed the remote on the nightstand and folded my arms over my chest. Judy looked over at me and started to laugh. "What?"

"Hanson, look at you. You're a sight for sore eyes. Pouting like a baby." She sat on the edge of the bed. "Cheer up."

"I'm bored."

"What do you wanna do?"

"There's a carnival downtown I heard…"

"We can't leave this hospital," Judy said as she gently pushed my knee. "You know that."

"I at least want some cotton candy."

"The doctors threw a fit for me bringing in the coffee, Hanson. I can only imagine what they'd do if I brought you a huge pile of pink sugar."

"Blue." I corrected with a firm nod. "I'd want the blue cotton candy."

"Of course," Judy giggled. "How could I forget? You're not a fan of pink are you?"

"I know it's the 80s, you know with expressing yourself as wildly as possible, but I'd rather stay away from the pink. But I could go for some cream. For my coffee." Cue innocent puppy dog pout here. Judy rolled her eyes and got up.

"Alright," she said as she gently slapped my leg. "I'll be right back." As she left, she brushed shoulders with a nurse who was coming in. The nurse looked like she was having a bad day. Her head was ducked down and she was staring at the cart she was rolling towards me. There were numerous bottles rattling on the cart's surface and the rhythm of the rattling quickened as she approached me.

"I thought I was up to date on all of my medication," I said to her. "They're even talking about releasing-"

"If you don't talk," she hissed. "This will make things easier." I knew that voice anywhere.

Sandra.

Once the awkward silence set between us, she slowly raised her chin. Her eyes were red, her cheeks were soaked with tears and as much as she wanted to resist, I could tell she felt she had to do it this way. Whatever "it" was, was beyond me. She took one of the bottles and poured its liquid into a cloth.

"JUDY!" I cried. "Ju-" My words were silenced as she stuffed the cloth over my face.

"Let's just go, Sandra!" I heard Calvin say. He walked in shortly after Sandra placed the cloth over my mouth. "We ran outta tranquilizers and I couldn't get to that woman officer."

"Hey!" I heard Judy scream. "Get off him! Freeze! You're under arrest!"

"Get her!" Sandra squeaked. Everything started to fade.

"I can't – she has a gun!" Calvin screamed.

"Calvin, YOU have a gun too."

"I dropped it on the way inside."

"Calvin…" sighed Sandra. "Here, let me do it." She looked down at me, waiting for me to drop off. I took in the blurry sight of Judy before I dropped off. I was really getting sick of those tranquilizers…

I woke up to feel vibrations underneath my body. There was a rumbling, like an old motor sputtering. There was an abrupt motion, a sudden jerk. The jerk sent me forward but something held me back. It was a seatbelt. I was in a truck. My vision started to clear up and as it did I could make out a dusty dashboard and the hood of a pick up truck. I was in the passenger seat, someone's jacket over my body, and another behind my head to make like a headrest.

Calvin was sitting in the driver's seat, watching the traffic light intently. We were sitting at a red light. We were in the middle of nowhere and there weren't any roaring sirens of police cars. God knows where we were by that point. As I moved my head, the homemade pillow fell into my lap and my head fell against the passenger side window. I winced, moaning lightly, and then rested my head against the back of the seat.

"I… I got your coffee for ya," Calvin said. "It's a little cold but we can warm it up once we get to the hotel."

"Where is he?" I asked him.

"You just rest, that stuff will have you dozing in and out for a while."

"I wanna know where he is."

"Who?"

"You know who I'm talking about," I hissed. "You don't just take someone hostage and then come back for another. Or at least without a good reason. Now where is he?"

"You don't know what I'm doin' so just sit there, okay?"

"You found out he wasn't Tom Hanson, right?" I asked. "You found out he wasn't Mandy's old boyfriend. He was still a hostage, he'd work, but you wanted the real deal. The one person to tug Mandy's heart strings."

"Just shut up." Calvin advised.

"So you came all the way back here, tracked down me, the real Tom Hanson. And now you're on your way to wherever you took Ioki. And you're going to do me the way you did him."

"Leave it alone."

"You wanted to make sure you sought vengeance for your daughter…" I steamed.

"Don't you dare talk about my daughter, you don't know anything about her. You don't know!"

"You think Beverly would have wanted this, Calvin?" I threw the coat off of me. "You think she'd have wanted you to kill people? You think she'd want you to go to jail and-"

Next thing I knew there was the face of a gun pressed against my forehead. The light turned green but the truck never moved.

"This'll shut you up real quick," Calvin said. "I don't wanna do this, kid, so don't you make me. Now just keep quiet. We're almost there. Then you can see that little friend of yours and everything will be fine."

With a gun against my head and an angry set of fugitives… I doubted things were going to be 'fine'.

[ Author's note: I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter posted! I had to get a new computer and it took FOREVER to get things set up. But I'm back now and I will have the next few chapters posted throughout the week. :)


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

_Doug Penhall_

We didn't even get halfway down the street when Fuller got a call on the radio. We expected the call to be something about other cases that were in progress. You hear everything, you know? But it wasn't about any other case, it was about _our_ case. A man ran out of the hospital with a hostage while a woman was arrested. With a worried glance, I turned to Fuller who immediately made a u-turn and went back to the hospital.

News crews were already there and they were smothering every person of the hospital faculty that entered or left the hospital. Police cars swarmed the area and I could hear sirens of other cars as they sped off in the direction of the fugitive. Then I saw Judy over by a police car. I jumped out as Fuller pulled over and rushed over to her. I saw the sadness in her eyes and I knew this couldn't be good.

"What happened to 'em?" I asked about Tom.

"He got him," Judy explained. "Calvin got him and sped off. Now he has both Ioki and Tom."

"Damn it!" I exclaimed with a harsh kick to the front tire. "We're not getting anywhere with this! It's just a wild goose chase and I'm sick of it."

"Penhall," Judy started.

"If I see one of 'em I swear I'm gonna-"

"We arrested Sandra."

"What?"

"Sandra. She didn't get run fast enough. We got her." Judy moved to the side to show who was inside the cop car. Handcuffed and moping in the backseat was Sandra. She slowly raised her head to meet with my eyes and immediately looked away. She knew what was coming. It wasn't going to be pretty. I was going to make sure of it.

We went to the nearest station immediately. I was waiting for her and I'm sure she wasn't waiting for me. Fuller was a little leery letting me interview her, but I promised to be nice. Well… as nice as a police officer could be while around a fugitive. The rest of the squad was watching me from another room and Fuller was waiting on edge to see if I would do anything that would require me to be restrained. Judy was also in the room, keeping a watchful eye on the monitor.

The room was warm and quiet. Sandra was sitting in a chair and I knew the minute I let her speak she was going to request a lawyer. From that point I couldn't talk to her and I couldn't get any information out of her. But I already had a plan. I entered the room with a sense of determination. This was going to go my way; I was going to see to it. There was no other way out of this. We came so far and I was not going to let everything slip through my fingers. Every time we came close to closing the case something would happen. I was sick of running around and I wanted my summer vacation. I wanted my Tommy. I walked in holding onto her file and I tossed it onto the table.

"I want a lawyer." Sandra said immediately.

"You know, the courts don't like fugitives as parents." I told her.

"What you mean?"

"Think about it. You killed one person, as far as we know, and you have harmed many others along the way. This is your first offense, but they won't go light on ya. They won't go light on your hubby either."

"You leave my son alone," Sandra said. "You leave Mackie alone!"

"Think about this for a minute, Sandra! You go into this thinking you're helping out your family. You're so concerned about getting revenge for what can't be undone that you don't even realize what this will do to Mackie."

"He'll be fine. We ain't guilty of nothin'. Courts will sympathize."

"Maybe they will and maybe they won't. You have to think of what's going to happen to Mackie. Either way you're going to prison. You're going to face 25 to life if anyone dies. If Hanson dies or Ioki… You might even get the death penalty and where will Mackie be? His last memory of you all will be the sight of you in handcuffs. Do you want that?"

"It's too late to go back," Sandra said. "I ain't supposed to say anything. Not until my lawyer gets here."

"Go ahead and get your lawyer. Get your 25 to life but don't say I didn't try to help you!"

"Help me how? You people done nothin' but get in our way!"

"You waive your right to a lawyer, you tell us where Calvin is, where my officers are, and we'll help you out. Lighten up your sentence if we can."

"If you can. That ain't no promise. That's a load of bull."

"Take it or leave it," I said with a shrug. "But Mackie's going to be pretty sad when he hears he has to live in an orphanage downtown."

Sandra looked away as tears filled her eyes and after a moment of hesitation, she nodded her head.

"Okay," she said. "I don't want a lawyer. I want my son."

"Good. Start talkin'."


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN**

_Tom Hanson_

Calvin was right about one thing, I was floating in and out throughout the ride. I started to snap out of it just as the car was pulling up a driveway. The house I expected to see was something awful – a rundown shack with a yard full of overgrown weeds and dead grass. I expected to see something where the roof's shingles would fall because they were so rotten. However I didn't see a rundown shack; I saw a beautiful rancher. The yard was well-kept, with numerous floral arrangements bordering the front of the house. There was even an inflatable pool set up with designs of Mickey Mouse. Mackie was in his swimming trunks and he was splashing around the pool as if it was the best thing in the world.

"Where are we?" I muttered in a dry voice. Calvin ran over to open my door and he grabbed one of my arms.

"Where's your grandma?" Calvin asked Mackie. "She still nappin'?"

"Nah," replied Mackie as he looked up from the water. "She's cookin' dinner in the kitchen."

"Grandma?" I asked. "You're holding people hostage in your mother's house?"

"Just get inside."

"You got your mom in on this?" I squeaked. "You're just taking everyone down with you aren't you?"

Calvin gripped my arm tighter, I guess a silent way of telling me to hush it, and escorted me inside. The inside of the house looked as beautiful and well-kept as the outside. It looked very homey, the type of place that feels like a grandmother's house. The yellow and white tiled floor in the kitchen with the sunflower drapes hanging over the window by the sink. The wooden spoons hung on the wall next to the table… It was peaceful and it reminded me of my grandmother's house, and I wondered why Calvin would bring two of his hostages here. Then I realized maybe he didn't know where else to go. He was no ordinary fugitive so he wouldn't take his hostages into a fugitive-friendly atmosphere.

What worried me was the fact Mackie didn't seem to be worried about what was going on. He was in his own little world and unaware that his parents were committing felonies. He didn't know his parents were criminals who would be going to jail once they got caught. I think Calvin and Sandra knew they were going to get caught, and Calvin taking us to his grandmother's house was a way of him showing that he was giving in. He didn't want to get caught at the hospital; he wanted to leave his grandmother's house with his hands in the air. He wanted his mother take in Mackie. However now his mother would be doing time in the big house and Mackie wouldn't have anyone. The thought made me frown, almost cry.

I kept quiet as we entered the house. Calvin's mother was in the kitchen stirring something in a bowl. It smelled like something Italian, possibly spaghetti. It smelled delicious. You ever taste hospital food? It isn't the greatest in the world and I was ready for some real food. The first thing I'd do after I got out of that house would be buying a burger from some burger joint. My mouth watered just thinking about it.

"I'll be back, Ma," Calvin said as he loosened the grip on my arm. "I'm just gonna take Tommy here and set him up downstairs."

"He looks just as tired as the other one," mentioned Calvin's mother. "You workin' those boys to death."

"Yeah. Game's on in an hour, we'll be downstairs." Calvin escorted me down the stairs and shoved me into one of the chairs. The basement was a rec room, carpeted and furnished with some storage piled on one side of the room. It was well lit and even had a television and pool table. Sitting on the couch was a face I had been searching for… Ioki.

Fuller was right about them, they hardly laid a hand on him. With an exception of a few bruises on his arms, he was left untouched. He looked fine. He stared at me with the same sad expression I gave him.

"Listen to me," Calvin said as he shoved me onto the couch next to Ioki. "If she asks you what's going on – you work for me at the plant, got it? We're here to watch the game."

"She may be old but she's not a twit," I hissed. "She'll see right through this."

"You go by what I tell you or else you won't live to see daylight again, you got it?"

"Hanson," said Ioki in a dry voice. "Just say okay."

Calvin stared at me long and hard, as if he was telling me to listen to every word Ioki had said. Considering Ioki had been in Calvin's custody longer than I had, I figured it would be best to listen to him. So I simply nodded. And after a moment longer, Calvin broke his intent stare and stormed upstairs. I watched his every move, never tearing my eyes away from the staircase until I heard the kitchen door slam shut.

"We're gonna get you out here," I started. "We just have to wait until-"

"Hanson…" Ioki said.

"What?"

"We have forty-five minutes to get out of here."

"What do you mean?"

Ioki raised his pant leg to reveal a device that was tied around his ankle. The monitor was flashing numbers and the numbers were decreasing. I recognized that instantly. It was a bomb. 44.50 minutes… 44.49 minutes… Every time the seconds passed I felt my heart drop further into my stomach. All that time I was looking for Ioki people kept telling me he wasn't hurt. He wasn't hurt – he was hooked up to a bomb. To know I could have showed up later, or just to think that we probably couldn't get out and we'd be fish food… it was beyond frightening. And it was all my fault.

"That's a bomb…" I mumbled.

"They put it on me as soon as they took me hostage," Ioki explained. "They couldn't get a hold of Mandy. They have left her all these messages on her answering machine and she hasn't gotten back to them. Then they found out I was me and not you… and things went haywire."

"We have to get that off you."

"It's clamped on good, there's no way. That's why he didn't tie me up, or you, it's because he locked the door. He's going to take his kid and run. And when it blows up…"

"What about his mother?"

"She has a lot of retirement money stashed away," Ioki said in a sad voice. "If he…"

"Inheritance," I continued. "That's so sick, for him to sacrifice his own mother-"

"He figured it was the only way to pay what he owed and get a better life for his son."

I looked down at the device on Ioki's ankle.

"He's gonna say I did it." Ioki continued. "He's going to say I was suicidal and I was trying to get him with me… We have to get out of here, Hanson. We have to get his mom out of here too."

I looked down at the device. 43 minutes and 20 seconds.


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT**

_Doug Penhall_

"Do you think it's true? Do you think there's a bomb in the house?"

We had the siren blasting. We were speeding down the road as fast as we could.

"If Sandra was telling the truth, then yeah, there's a bomb in the house."

My heart was in my stomach and my stomach… well I didn't know where it was at the moment.

"Get out of the way! Emergency!"

"Penhall!" exclaimed Fuller. "You have your siren on so stop screaming; now keep your eyes on the road and – Penhall!"

"What?"

"Put that finger away."

"…Yes sir."

Sandra told us where Calvin was keeping our cops hostage. She told us that Ioki had a bomb strapped to his leg. Sandra stayed in custody while Fuller and I rushed to the house with plenty of back up. There were cop cars, fire trucks and bomb squad vehicles. The sirens were roaring at full volume as we raced against time to save our friends. I think Fuller was more worried about the situation than I was, despite his rather calm behavior during the ride over. I could see it in his eyes that he was scared for the two officers. We got so close over the last few years that we felt more like a family than a workforce. He was like a father to us, really, and if it were any other cop in this situation, he would worry for them the same.

"They'll be okay…" He told me as he looked my way. I wasn't sure if he attempting to comfort me or convince himself things were better than they looked. I just nodded. I knew things weren't going to be okay. I just had a feeling in the pit of my stomach. We already had a fugitive in custody and she wasn't going to get a slap on the hand. She killed someone, she attempted killing others. So did her husband. Her husband would face the same fate if not worse and that poor kid of theirs would be raised in an orphanage. Knowing that I booked them and sent their kids to an orphanage just killed me. And then I thought of Tommy and our situation. I loved him and I was worried about him. I knew he wasn't right in the head after Bruno's death. He really needed to talk to someone. I was worried about my buddy Ioki. He was the victim of this entire predicament and he was helpless. He couldn't get out of it on his own and we had taken so long finding him.

"Yeah but… what if…"

My words were cut off by the sound of an explosion. Flames erupted from a house down the road… the very house we were driving to. The smoke and flames danced in the air, almost reaching the clouds in the sky. The whips and crackles of the flames made me wince with every sound I heard.

"NO!" I screamed as I slammed on the breaks. I threw off my seatbelt and rushed to the house, Fuller close behind. "NO. DAMN IT. DAMN IT, NO! NO!"

"Get in there!" Fuller ordered to the firemen who were pulling up to the curb. I pushed my way through and started for the front door when suddenly I felt someone jerk me back. "Penhall, you stay out here."

"They're in there!" I stated as tears filled my eyes.

"Let the firemen do their job." Fuller said in a stern voice. "We have to stay out here."

"The man I love is in that house!" I exclaimed. "I'm not going to just stand back and let him die!" I pushed past Fuller and rushed into the house, the flames licking my arms as I went through the front door. We came this far and I wasn't going to let them die.


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE**

_Tom Hanson_

3 minutes and 20 seconds.

"Is it coming loose at all?"

3 minutes and 19 seconds.

"No, no, but we can get it, I know we can."

3 minutes and 18 seconds.

"Hanson, we've been at this for over forty minutes. Calvin's gone off with his son and his mother isn't responding to our calls." Ioki placed his hand on my arm. "Nothing's making it come loose."

We were still huddled in the basement. We had spent the last forty-some minutes trying to disarm the bomb and detach it from Ioki's leg. Nothing was working. Nothing would unhook. As the seconds passed we were losing hope. Tears were in our eyes and I avoided looking into Ioki's at all cost. I knew that once I did I would lose it. I couldn't take seeing his tears and I didn't want him to see mine.

"If we can just fine a way to-"

"Hanson! No." He shoved my arm away and started for the stairs. "We need to break down the door."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to get as far away from you as I can. And you need to find Calvin's mother and get her out of here."

"No," I said as I shook my head. "No, we're not going to give up, Ioki."

"Maybe when the bomb goes off, you guys won't get hurt."

"No!" I pulled Ioki's arm. "Get back down here, we will get it off of your leg, I promise."

"You can't promise me that! It's hopeless." He looked over at me, making sure I saw his face this time. His voice was shaking with sobs and tears were running down his cheeks. "But you can promise me to get a message to the guys for me, okay?"

"Don't talk like that…" I whispered as my lower lip quivered. I felt a tear run down the side of my face. "Don't you dare talk like that."

"Just let them know that I'm gonna miss 'em, kay?"

"Please let me help. I looked so hard for you. It's my fault that you're here."

"Hanson…"

"They thought you were me… I should be the one with the bomb on my leg."

"Hanson…"

"I should stay here with you, it's only right."

"Damn it, Hanson, you listen to me!" He cupped my face in his hands. "You tried your hardest. You did your best and it isn't your fault I'm in this situation, okay? I'm going to go and you're going to find the lady and bring her down here, you understand?"

"Ioki, please, at least…"

"Do you understand?"

"Here!" I picked up the needle and tools I had been using to try and pry off the bomb. "At least use this up there. Try and pick it. Anything. Please."

Ioki took the tools from me and gestured to the door.

"You have to kick it open. If I do it, the force might make the bomb go off."

I wiped my eyes, backed up and ran to the door. I hurled my body against the door, the door itself only shook. I backed up again and ran into the door at full force, letting out a painful cry as my body crashed into the wood. The door went tumbling to the ground, splintered wood flying through the air. Before I even had the chance to get up, Ioki rushed past me and made his way to the top floor. It was all up to him now. Maybe fate would deal us a miracle and things would turn out okay. But I couldn't worry about that now; I had to find the lady.

"Hey!" I screamed. "Hey! Lady! Lady where are you?" I crawled to my feet and started sprinting through the house. "Lady, I need to talk to you just for a minute, please!"

There was no response. Nothing. "Lady, please!" No response.

I kept calling for what seemed like hours, but there were only moments left before the bomb would go off. "LADY! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE." I screamed while heading back to the door. I opened it and took a step down. "IF YOU CAN HEAR ME YOU NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW. RIGHT-"

BOOM!


	30. Chapter 30

**CHAPTER THIRTY**

_Doug Penhall_

I could hear the firemen screaming for me as I rushed through the house. I wasn't going to stop. They would have to knock me out and drag me out of that house for me NOT to go in. I rushed through the house, dodging the flames where possible and searching for Tom everywhere. I searched through the living area, the dining room… everywhere. I couldn't find him or Ioki.

"HANSON!" I screamed as I charged through the house. "HANSON! IOKI!"

No one answered. I went into the kitchen and saw a door opened. Peaking in, I saw the stairs descending into the basement. And at the very bottom, crumpled in a corner was Hanson. My guess was he fell down the stairs from the explosion.

"Hanson! Tommy!"

"Penhall!"

Who was that?

"Hanson?"

"Penhall, get back here!" It was Fuller. Without turning back, I went down the stairs and took Tom in my arms. He stirred somewhat, his fingers curling themselves around my shirt collar.

"Ioki…" he mumbled. "We have to get Ioki."

"Let's get you outta here, baby." I told him. He continued to whisper about Ioki but I didn't see Ioki anywhere. The smoke was starting to get to me and I knew it had already hit Tom twice as hard. So I threw him over my shoulder and carried him up the stairs. Right as I made it into the kitchen, Fuller grabbed me by the arm and rushed me out of the side door. We ran across the street and I placed Tom on the grass. I flopped down beside him and let out a long breath.

"Are you crazy?" Fuller exclaimed. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

I pulled Tom into my arms and kissed his forehead.

"I didn't care," I said. "I wanted to get them out. I wanna go back in and get Ioki."

"You're not going anywhere." Fuller stated. He watched me comfort Tom and let out a gentle sigh. "You stay here with Hanson. Try and snap him out of it. Here come the paramedics now."

Fuller walked back over to the other side of the street and watched the door intently. He was waiting for Ioki to walk out, I could tell by the hopeful look in his eyes. The paramedics surrounded us with oxygen tanks, bandages and first aid items. I looked over to Tom who was slowly coming to. He placed his hand over the paramedic's, who was holding an oxygen mask over his face. He was trying to make sense of what was going on. And it was then, as he looked over at me with the smoke in my eyes and the ashes on my face, that he realized what was going on.

"Ioki." He said in a much clearer voice. He pushed the paramedic away. "Ioki's still in there!"

"Hanson, they're doing all they can." I told him.

"You took a hard fall, sir, just sit back." The paramedic told Tom. "We need you to breath in some of this oxygen."

"I can breathe just fine!" Tom said as he pushed the mask away. He stumbled on his feet and then started for the door. I quickly got up and followed him. I held him from behind and tried to hold him back. He forcefully thrashed about, trying to move any way that would free him from my grasp. "I need to find him, I need to find him."

"They're doing all they-"

"It should have been me, Doug!" Tom screamed as he slammed his fist against my chest. I winced but I didn't do anything. He needed it. "You're just standing there and letting him burn! I can't do that! I need to get him outta there!" He threw a few more punches, tears streaming down his face. I tightened my grip on his arms, as he was getting more difficult to control and I pulled him back a few steps. He fell into my arms and burst into tears. "It isn't fair. It isn't fair."

"I know, man, I know." I sat down with him on the grass and rubbed his back.

"I'm sorry, Doug," he said to me. "I just don't know what I'll do if they don't get him out of there."

"It's okay, buddy," I whispered in his ear. "It's okay."

"It's all my fault," he whimpered. "It was supposed to be me…"

I heard commotion coming from across the street. A fireman came out carrying a body. It was Ioki.

"Tom," I said as I watched the fireman intently. "Tom, look it's Ioki." No response. I looked down and he was out cold, having either fallen asleep or passed out. By the time I looked up I saw two bodies across the street, one covered with a sheet. My jaw fell a little. "Fuller!" I called . "Fuller!" Fuller walked across the street, a sad expression on his face and I knew something wasn't right.

"Please don't tell me that-"

"She didn't make it," Fuller said. "The elderly woman didn't survive."

"And Ioki?"

"They don't know if he's going to make it to the hospital…" Fuller said, a quiver in his voice as he spoke. "They're preparing to rush him over there now."

"Oh god," I whispered. "He can't… he can't just go. Not after all this. What can we do?"

"The only thing we can do," Fuller took a seat beside me and looked down at the unconscious Hanson. "Pray."

"Captain!" The chief fireman was jogging across the street. "Captain Fuller."

"Yes sir," Fuller said as he pulled himself to his feet. "How're things looking?"

"The homicide crew just got here. Your officer is being transported to the hospital for treatment. He's hurt bad but not as bad as it could have been. He managed to take off the device somehow – I'm guessing with tools nearby – and he tried to run back down the stairs. We found him in the living area. You better take your other two officers to the hospital as well for treatment."

The most unthinkable happened and I was hoping that everything would turn out fine… but I had a feeling it wouldn't.


	31. Chapter 31

**CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE**

_Tom Hanson_

It didn't seem real just yet. I thought everything was a bad dream. That's how it happened in the movies, right? The main character wakes up from a bad dream to realize that his life is okay. That wasn't going to happen. We were at the hospital for a long time, even after our treatments were through. I suffered a few bruises and cuts from falling down the stairs along with a few minor burns. Doug suffered from burns also, but neither of us would suffer the injuries Ioki did. I didn't even want to look at him. The doctors were in there attempting to treat him and they were in there for what seemed like forever. That wasn't a good thing, and the longer I sat there in the waiting room, the more unbearable it became to sit there.

Judy and Fuller were in the waiting room with Doug and me. Judy was casually reading through an issue of some girly magazine and Fuller and Doug were watching a rerun of a sitcom on the waiting room television. I couldn't read and I couldn't watch television. I just wanted all of this to be over with so we could go about our business like usual. The thought of a vacation terrified me. We tried taking a vacation – what – twice? And both times went to the pits one way or another. I didn't want that to happen again. I didn't even want to go back to work at this point. Sometimes I'd just shiver thinking about how all of this was happening to Ioki and not me. Fuller called it 'survivor's guilt' and maybe that was what was going on in my head. I couldn't take it.

I was watching Doug watch television. It was getting late and every now and again he'd nod off for no more than a few seconds. As much as Fuller urged him to go get some sleep, he insisted on staying. Just like me. He really saved my ass and he acted like it was nothing. I leaned against him and just as he looked down at me I saw a doctor emerge from the set of double doors. The look on his face wasn't a promising one. There was no hope or pleasantness in his expression. I sat up straight while the others stood on their feet. My expectations were low. I had a feeling that things weren't going to be okay. After what had happened I really didn't see how Ioki could have gotten out of the house alive. Yet as I looked around the room, I saw Doug, Judy and Fuller all holding the same hopeful expression. It made my heart drop into my stomach. I hated hospitals and this incident only made me hate them more. I was abruptly pulled out of my thoughts as Fuller's deep voice rang close to my ear.

"How is he?" he asked the doctor. The doctor looked at him for a few seconds as if he was trying to gather his thoughts. I could feel my lower lip quivering and my heart throbbing with rough and quick beats.

"He's in bad shape," The doctor said sadly. He glanced at all of us, his eyes glued on me for a few seconds. "We're not sure if he's going to make it through the night."

"Oh god," I whimpered in a low voice. "Oh god."

"He's being kept in room 13A in ICU. We need to run some tests and-"

"That's fine," Fuller said. "Do whatever you need to do."

The doctor nodded and started walking in the other direction. Judy slumped down in her seat, her eyes meeting with Doug's. Fuller's eyes landed on mine.

"I don't wanna do this anymore." I said to him.

"What do you mean?" asked Fuller. I took off my badge and threw it on the floor.

"I don't wanna do this anymore. I'm through. I'm done."

"Hanson…" Fuller sighed.

"Tommy, come on," Doug said softly. "Don't do this man, you're not thinking straight."

"I'm done!" I stated. "This is too much for me. He's gonna die and-"

"C'mon," Fuller reached down and picked up my badge. He pulled my hand in his and place the badge on my palm. "You're not going to quit over this. You're a cop. Ioki was a cop."

"Captain…"

"C'mon." He tugged my wrist. "Let's go see him."

"See… Ioki?" I shook my head and pulled my arm away. "No. No, I refuse to. I'm the last person he wants to see."

"Hanson, you listen to me." Fuller held onto my shoulders. "It is not your fault."

I felt my eyes water and as I looked down, Fuller pulled me forward and wrapped his arms around me. "It is not your fault." He said reassuringly.

"Then why do I feel like it is?"

"I had a buddy in the force years ago, back in the seventies, who went with me undercover on a drug bust." Fuller explained. He pulled back to look down at me. "And everything was going fine until one of his buddies found us out. They pulled out their guns and shot my buddy to the ground. I left with a shot in the leg. I felt the same way."

"How'd you get past it?"

"The fools fled once they heard the sirens. That left me enough time to tell him goodbye. And he told me not to worry about him and that he didn't want me living in guilt. That helped me a lot. So we're going to do the same for you."

"What if he hates me?"

"He told you in the house that it wasn't your fault."

"That was before the bomb went off," I explained. "Things are different now, he's gonna die."

"They said he MIGHT die, he hasn't yet. Have a little hope, okay?" Fuller pat me on the shoulder and gently push me in the direction of the Intensive Care Unit. "C'mon. Let's go talk to him."


	32. Chapter 32

**CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO**

_Tom Hanson_

The hospital room smelled too clean. Everything was either white or blue and the only noises to be heard were the machines that Ioki was hooked up to. He wasn't living off of a machine, thankfully, just had a few standard machines. While they were standard and every patient used them, it still freaked me out. What was most unsettling was Ioki, who was laying in the bed. I could tell he was awake. After hearing the door open, I saw his head turn towards us. There was no smile on his face, I didn't expect one, but I knew he was in pain. Before I had time to turn back, Fuller gently placed his hand on my shoulder and led me inside.

"Hey Captain." Ioki greeted in a dry and cracked voice.

"'Ey, man, how you feelin'?" asked Fuller as he took a seat in a chair. I walked over to the bed and stared down at Ioki, unsure of what to say. What was there TO say in a situation like that?

"Hanson," Ioki said, forcing a tiny smile on his face. "How's it goin'?"

"I um… I…" I took a step back and shrugged my shoulders. "It's going I guess."

"Looks like you got out okay," Ioki said as he reached for my arm. He took a look at it and scanned over my body. "That's great."

"I…yeah."

"Hanson," laughed Ioki as he shook my arm. "I don't have cooties. You don't have to act all weird."

"It's just hard," I said. "Seein' you like this. I'm… I'm gonna go and let Doug see you. I know he has been wanting to talk to you."

"No, please," Ioki squeezed my hand. "Stay with me? I wanna talk."

Fuller got up from his chair and pulled it next to the bed.

"I'm going to head out, make some calls." Fuller motioned to the chair. "Have a seat, Hanson."

I waited until he left to sit down in the chair. There was nothing for me to say – I wanted to apologize, but I apologized too much already and I knew he'd tell me it wasn't my fault. He seemed in good spirits now that we were face-to-face after the accident, but I still felt like things were off.

"Before you even say it, don't apologize." Ioki told me in a firm voice. "You've heard it a thousand times but it's not your fault. When they first took me, I could have told them that YOU were Tom Hanson and I wasn't, but I didn't. And you know why?"

"Why is that?" I asked. I honestly thought he was going to tell me something full of fiction, something only said to make me feel better. But he reached out and held both of my hands in his, giving me a look of reassurance and truth.

"Because you would have done the same for me," explained Ioki. "We're friends, Tom. We've known each other for a while now and there's no doubt in my mind that if you and I were in the same situation again and the tables were turned… you'd do the same for me. Wouldn't you?"

"In a heartbeat."

"Okay." Ioki gestured to the dresser next to the bed. "There's a board game down there. 'Sorry' I think. Wanna play?"

"Yeah, sure." I went over and knelt by the dresser. I looked over at Ioki. "…We're cool?"

Ioki nodded, a shy smile curling at his lips.

"Yeah, we're cool."

I smiled back. It would take time for everything to settle, but at least I had this moment. The battle was far from over but we were getting there. Now we had to face the courts and see what fate Calvin and his family would face.

(Author's Note: I will have the next chapter up by Halloween, I promise. 3 Sorry I took so long to post this one. Had trouble getting to a computer for a while.)


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